The Gibraltar Magazine September 2015 by Rock Publishing Ltd

September 2015 Vol. 20 # 11 FREE

Harley Davidson - Anniversary Rally

Biz-Jets - Who owns them?

University of Gibraltar - Educating the Rock

Healthy Eating - Exploring the fad

Gibraltar SPCA - Charity Matters

Karl Ullger on Acid - At the Royal Academy

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

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c a t a l a n lounge & terrace Enjoy afternoon tea or drinks whilst enjoying popular tunes performed by the Valerga Brothers every Friday between 5.30pm - 9.30pm. Perfect for pre-dinner drinks before dining at Nunos our award winning Italian restaurant.

T: (+350) 200 76501 F: (+350) 200 42143 E: reservations@caletahotel.gi www.caletahotel.com Sir Herbert Miles Road, Catalan Bay, PO Box 73, Gibraltar

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editor’s note

SEPTEMBER ISSUE W

hen undertaking a master’s degree in publishing, I had never actually planned to work in the industry. It was a natural next step in my education after completing a bachelor’s, which simply did not feel like it was ‘enough’. I was then headhunted to work in marketing, an area that had little to do with what I had spent all this time learning. A few years later, I worked in an executive search consultancy in London dealing with CVs of senior executives; CEOs, CFOs, MDs etc, and hardly any of them had a university degree. What they did have, was a bag full of experience with years on the job, climbing the ladder from the very bottom. At the same time, I had many friends with bachelors’ and masters’ from various disciplines working in very basic admin positions. So, with the opening of a new university on the Rock (p. 32), how much value does a higher education diploma have these days? Nicole and Eve spoke to A level students to find out their plans for the future and the impact the new Gib uni has on their decisions (p. 39). In Business, Ian delves into the world of private jets and those who own them (p. 4

19); Lynette Chaudhary discusses residential property tax and how shifts in UK regulations can affect locals who own property in Britain (p. 27); and Mike Nicholls touches on the rejuvenated interest in living in the town (p. 30). Also in this issue, we welcomed Gibraltar’s new Command Chaplain, Mike Wagstaff who boasts a fascinating history in the Navy (p. 42) and learned the importance of recognition after meeting Gibraltar SPCA Manager and his thirty-two rescue dogs, trying to come back to the Rock (p. 48). We introduce local artist, Karl Ullger, whose Bayview Clock Tower was bought by the Royal Academy London, where it is now proudly displayed. He tells us about his unusual technique of working with metal and acid to create his stunning landscapes on page 56.

We travel to Cuba with Alex Caruana (p. 69) whose encouraging piece made us all want to book flights and catch a glimpse of the past before the opening of the American Embassy there brings the capitalism and takes away the magic, while Alex Orfila considers why festivals bring out our inner fashionistas and propses a pretty varied selection of outfits perfect for the GMF (p. 65). We chose our cover shot from the most recent Harley Davidson Rally, a favourite among many motorbike clubs in Spain, Portugal and even furhter afar in Europe (p. 13). As September is filled with endof-Summer events and National Week celebrations (p. 9), we recommend early reading!

Anna

You’ll more than definitely find yourself booking a thai massage after reading about my experience with Seba who left me feeling rejuvenated and relaxed (p. 74), and possibly making some dietary shifts, if you follow Nicole’s journey into the world of healthy eating (p. 76). GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

Direct access Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s is important to us that our clients have direct access to their relationship managers. Therefore we have no call centers. Instead, each of our clients has their own personal relationship manager who they can contact anytime - to quickly make good decisions. There are no obstacles or barriers between us. Welcome to a bank out of the ordinary.

Jyske Bank (Gibraltar) Ltd. Tel. +350 200 72782 Follow us on facebook jyskebankgibraltar Jyske Bank (Gibraltar) Ltd. is licensed by the Financial Services Commission, Licence No. FSC 001 00B. Services and products are not available to everybody, for instance not to residents of the US.

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GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JUNE 2007

contents 8 NEWS September 2015 Vol. 20 # 11 FREE

14 Around Town 16 Hello there: Meeting someone famous

FINANCE, BUSINESS, PROPERTY 19 22 24 27 30

Biz Jets - Who owns them and why? Change & Adapt - New Officer at Barclays Conflict Resolution - A guide to mediation Residential Property Tax - UK Changes Town Living - Back in Fashion

LIFE

Harley Davidson - Anniversary Rally

Biz-Jets - Who owns them?

University of Gibraltar - Educating the Rock

Healthy Eating - Exploring the fad

Gibraltar SPCA - Charity Matters

Karl Ullger on Acid - At the Royal Academy

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

32 39 42 46 48 52 55

Education: University of Gibraltar Education: A levels Faith in the Navy – Gibraltar’s new Chaplain Back to Roots – A place called home Charity Matters – Gibraltar SPCA Heritage: Fake Waiter Helps Defeat Nazis Heritage: The Great Siege of Gibraltar, The Opera

20 # 11 September 2015 Cover: Shane

SCENE

©DM Parody www.dotcom.gi/photos

Contributing writers: : Ian Le Breton, Callie Lombard, Leah Carnegie, Lynette Chaudhary, Mike Nicholls, Eve Maddock-Jones, Richard Cartwright, Reg Reynolds, Elena Scialtiel, Alex Orfila , Alexandra Caruana, Andrew Licudi. The Gibraltar Magazine is published monthly by Rock Publishing Ltd Portland House, Suite 4, Glacis Road, Gibraltar T: (+350) 20077748 | E: info@thegibraltarmagazine.com Copyright © 2015 Rock Publishing Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without written consent of The Gibraltar Magazine.

www.TheGibraltarMagazine.com

Magazine & website archived by the British Library

@gibmag

! ADVERTISE

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

56 Karl Ullger on Acid – Metal Rock views 60 Proud to Cover – Music by B S#arp 62 Going out with a Bang – Lauren McCann ‘Best Actress’

LEISURE 65 69 74 76 82 84

Fashion: Festival Fever Travel: Cuban Magic Health: Ancient Therapy - Thai Yoga Massage Healthy Eating – Exploring the fad Recipes: Ice Cream Cheese Cake & Multivitamin Salad Wine: Room Temperature

86 Guides and Information 98 Coffee Time and Schedules

! GET INVOLVED

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

! GET IN TOUCH

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

Email: info@thegibraltarmagazine.com Tel: 200 77748

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

Editor: Anna Kolesnik anna@thegibraltarmagazine.com Head Journalist: Nicole Macedo nicole@thegibraltarmagazine.com Distribution: Jordan Brett jordan@thegibraltarmagazine.com Accounts: Paul Cox paul@thegibraltarmagazine.com

news

NATIONAL WEEK CLASSICAL CONCERT he annual National Week Classical Concert will feature violinist and conductor Guy Braunstein, flutist Gili Schwarzman, and the European Symphony Orchestra. To be held on Friday 4th September at 8pm at St Michael’s Cave. Organiser, the Gibraltar Philharmonic Society expressed their delight over bringing such acclaimed musicians to perform in Gibraltar. Commenting on Guy Braunstein and Gili Schwarzman, a spokesperson added, ‘Both world renowned musicians, partners in the life and on stage, guarantee an evening full of profound music making.’ Born in Tel Aviv, Guy studied violin under ChaimD&H Taub,Ceramics Glenn Dicterow and Pinchas 60, Devils Tower Road, Zuckerman, he found fame,Gibraltar playing Tel:Israel +350 Philharmonic, 200 70100 with the Tonhalle Fax: +350 200 76018 Zurich, Bamberg Symphony, Copenhagen Email: ceramics@gibtelecom.net Radio Web: and Frankfurt Radio Orchestras. www.dhceramics.com Guy was the youngest person to be appointed concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker in 2000, a position he has since retired from.

Gili Schwarzman has performed around the globe as a soloist with orchestras such as the Jerusalem Symphony, the Israeli Chamber Orchestra, the Berliner Camerata, the Valencia Symphony, the Potsdam Chamber Orchestra and others. She has performed on a host of Europe’s most prestigious stages including Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Mozerteum Salzburg, Berlin Philharmonie, and Hamburg Laeiszhalle.

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NEW! EASYJET MARKS ONE MILLIONTH PASSENGER QuickStep Impressive L Waterproof Laminate ate August saw budget airline easyJet fly its one-millionth passenger on the Gibraltar –D&H London Gatwick route, which Ceramics has run for60, eight years. Head ofGibraltar Gibraltar Devils Tower Road, +350 200 70100 services forTel: easyJet, Ali Gayward explained Fax: +350 200 76018 that there has been an increased number Email: ceramics@gibtelecom.net of travellers flying with easyJet on their Web: www.dhceramics.com Gibraltar routes. She added, ‘we remain

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news

NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATION EVENTS

Wednesday 9th Sept 6.30pm National Day Thanksgiving Mass Shrine of Our Lady of Europe Thursday 10th Sept (National Day)

Tuesday 25th Aug to Friday 11th Sept 9.30am to 9.30pm

Friday 4th Sept 8pm

‘Our Gibraltar’ Photographic Exhibition

St Michael’s Cave, featuring Guy Braunstein, Gili Schwarzman and the European Symphony Orchestra

John Mackintosh Hall, organised by the Gibraltar Photographic Society Monday 31st Aug to Friday 4th Sept 8pm ‘Madre Mia’ John Mackintosh Hall, Yanito Comedy written by Christian Santos and Richard Mor, organised by Santos Productions Thursday 3rd to Tuesday 15th Sept 10.30am to 6.30pm Gibraltar Theme Painting Exhibition Casemates Square, Gustavo Bacarisas Gallery, organised by the Fine Arts Association

National Week Classical Concert

Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th Sept Doors open at 2pm Gibraltar Music Festival Victoria Stadium, produced by Word of Mouth and Axel Media for the Ministry of Culture Monday 7th & Tuesday 8th Sept 2nd Gibraltar Backgammon Open Tournament Latinos’ Restaurant, organised by the Backgammon Association of Gibraltar

9:30am-12:10pm - Casemates Square, live music & performances 10:30am - Piazza, Children’s fancy dress 12:30pm - Casemates Square, Political Rally 1pm - Release of red & white balloons 1:15-3pm - Casemates Square, DJ Music 1:30-7pm - John Mackintosh Square, Fun for Kids 1:30pm onwards - King’s Bastion Leisure Centre, Popular Live Music & Family Fun Activities 1:30pm onwards - Rock on the Rock, Live Music 2-9pm - Bayside Sports Complex - Live music & DJ’s (over 17’s) 2-8pm - Adventure Playground, DJ & Foam Party (16 & under) 2:30-7pm - Governor’s Place, Jazz Friends 3pm - Catalan Bay & Rosia Bay, Aerial Twister Display

Friday 4th Sept 5pm to 1am

Tuesday 8th Sept 7.30pm

8:40pm - Detached Mole, Aerial Twister Display

3rd Gibraltar Wine Festival

Boat Procession

9pm-12:30am - Casemates Square, Rock Concert

Chatham Counterguard

From Coaling Island to South Mole

10:30pm Detached Mole, Fireworks Display

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEORGE! It’s time to celebrate! We have helped the environment & saved money by using our energy & water more efficiently! But let’s stay Green for Life. Remember to always

Think • Act • Save Our Planet, our Home, our Responsibility.

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news

HISTORIC BOX CAR RESTORATION

he Gibraltar Heritage Trust last month revealed the final outcome of a project they have been at the helm of. An original box car, dating back to the early 1900s, having once been an integral facet of the dockyard railway system, has been fully restored by Rock Joinery, and is currently on display in John Mackintosh Square. The unit, a metre-gauge goods truck used for transporting supplies, munitions and goods, is the last of its kind in Gibraltar. The railway, initiated 1895, as part of a £4.5 million expansion of the dockyard, was used to move materials and heavy loads during the construction of three torpedo proof dry docks. The railway was built along the edge of the sand slopes along Sir Herbert Miles Road, it ran as far as the Oil Tanks by the entrance to Sir Dudley Ward Tunnel. There was also an east-west link through the Admiralty Tunnel. Once the works were completed, featuring coaling facilities, workshops and ancillary support trades, the system remained within the dockyard, where it was used for many more years. The expansion came about when the Royal Navy reviewed its strategy and established Gibraltar as an ideally situated hub for monitoring sea traffic through the Mediterranean. The maximum speed limit on the railway D&H Ceramics network was 11kmh. The track spanned 60, Devils Towerand Road, Gibraltar the entire coastline had seventeen Tel: +350 200 70100 locomotive engines using it, at the Fax: +350 200 76018 heightEmail: of itsceramics@gibtelecom.net use. Although most carts Web:numbers, www.dhceramics.com only used four were named

D&H Ceramics 60, Devils Tower Road, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 70100 Fax: +350 200 76018 Email: ceramics@gibtelecom.net Web: www.dhceramics.com

‘Calpe’, ‘Catalan’, ‘Gibraltar’ and ‘Rosia’. Stories suggest that whilst it was never a passenger railway, workers were known to hitch rides occasionally. The cart is made of timber and is set on a steel chasis with grooved wheels. It was hand-brake-lever operated. The commencement of restoration works, which had been discussed for years, came about after the box car’s shed in the gorge at Engineer Battery was put out to tender for commercial use. Gil Podest, a longstanding member of the Heritage Trust, headed the project, from the initial move from Gib Dock, to finding it a temporary spot in the centre of Gibraltar’s main street. ‘To me, it brings very, very good memories from my days at the dockyard. This is the type of project that the Trust wants to undertake, it helps us to restore what Gibraltar once was,’ a Trust spokesman commented, ‘the idea is to have it on public display until the end of August, until a final location is decided.’

The cart was unveiled by the Minister for Culture, Steven Linares. Speaking at the event, he thanked the Heritage Trust, adding ‘when Gil brought this to me as an idea, of course we all agreed to work at it. This is a culmination of the hard work he’s carried out with all the other entities. This is a partnership between the Government, the trust and the private sector, to try and bring history back. I’m sure that many won’t know that we had a railway system in Gibraltar. This will at least inform the young people on what Gibraltar really was and where we’ve come from. For me it’s a pleasure.’

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QuickStep

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COMPETING AT FIRE-FIGHTER COMBAT CHALLENGE

our fire-fighters of the Gibraltar Fire and Rescue Service formed a Gibraltar national team to compete in the European circuit of the Fire-fighter Combat Challenge event, at the end of August. Firefighter’s Coulthard, McGrail, Abudarham and Pratts were offered the opportunity to compete in Slovenia with European champions and the World Championships to be held in Montgomery in USA. The Gibraltar team took part in two previous competitions, having earned a European Team Bronze medal in Germany, as well as course practice and vital experience. The contest involved a five-storey stair climb with a nineteen-kilogram hose, forcible entry, hose advance and victim rescue. The FCC is a federally funded, university-based health physiological research study that is now an internationally touring and televised sporting event. It promotes physical fitness as an essential part of structural

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEBMER 2015

firefighting. The competition highlights the physical demands in the firefighting line of duty. The team were incredibly pleased with what they had achieved, thanking Dean Chipolina of Direct General Metalworks for making the team a Keiser Force Machine, a simulated forcible entry-chopping device. They also commented on how proud they were of their accomplishments thus far, adding, ‘we want to improve and grow as a team and are already in full training mode with the intention to be able to compete at the World Championships and see what we can achieve on the world stage. We are so grateful to be able to take part in this event and to be able to fly the flag for Gibraltar high and proud, again showing that we may be a small nation but we can compete with the best in the world.’ All Gibraltar competitors beat their personal bests on the individual runs. Keep up to date via their Facebook page ‘Firefighter Combat Team Gibraltar’.

Banish ‘Bikini Fear’ Boost your Body Confidence With this year’s sizzling summer, the pool or beach is the place to be – but often we can be a little hard on ourselves, suffering a lack of body confidence when it comes to wearing swimwear. There are many ways to conquer ‘bikini fear’ – from diet, exercise to choosing flattering swimwear - and above all, not worrying about what our peers think about us! Yet if you’ve always wanted fuller or uplifted breasts; a flatter stomach after having children, or to be rid of those stubborn fat deposits, then Dr. Marco Vricella can offer you a free consultation to discuss your options. Aria clients say: ...I feel that this has been one of the best decisions I have ever made... ...I wish I’d done it 10 years ago...

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news

HARLEY DAVIDSON RALLY MARKS 10TH ANNIVERSARY M

id August, for ten years, has seen the narrow roads of Gibraltar inundated with Harleys from as far reaching as Germany. The Gibraltar Harley Davidson Rally is a favourite amongst surrounding clubs in Spain and Portugal, with attendance this year reaching over the thousand bikes mark. Attendance fluctuates annually. The Gibraltar rally preparation takes six months, with the obtaining of licenses and permits, and liaising with local agencies, like the RGP and the Government. The day kicks off with a static display in Casemates Square, allowing visiting enthusiasts to meet their comrades and marvel at the myriad bikes on show. The morning is filled with musical and dance performances, followed by the traditional Rock tour that leads the motorcade of bikes across the Upper Rock. The day comes to a close with a barbecue

at Harley Riders Gibraltar headquarters. Riders are not charged any fees to participate in the event. The rally dates back to 2006, since then it has grown to one of the largest events in the area. Members of the club fluctuate around the fifty mark, with lots of interest generated within the community, even by younger bike fanatics, who deviate from the club’s predominantly middle aged, male representation. The club hosts excursions every month to the surrounding areas of Andalucia including regional rallies. They describe themselves as a brotherhood, with the motto ‘live to ride & ride to live’. Every Friday evening, the group gathers at the clubhouse, in Lathbury Barracks, within a purpose built development for clubs and organizations. Club members’ partners

and children are encouraged to join in any events including the annual flagship trip to Portugal. Over 25,000 bikers congregate at one of the biggest festivals in Europe with rock music luminaries like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Black Sabbath having performed in previous years. The Harley Riders are one of a few motorbike clubs on the Rock. They support the efforts of neighbouring clubs, including the ‘Gibraltar Motorcycle Club’, who were recently offered new premises by the Government, following a rock fall at their former headquarters along Dudley Ward Way. Motorbikes in Gibraltar are a staple mode of transport and draw the interest of many locals, particularly with a host of motorbike related events around Andalucía.

©DM Parody www.dotcom.gi/photos

e r

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEBMER 2015

around town

ast month was a daunting time for students collecting their exam results, both GCSE & A level. After being congratulated for their efforts by Education Minister Gilbert Licudi, teens flock to the beach.

arly in the month, students left school for their summer break bringing about the initiation of the ever-popular Summer Nights programme of events, to run on Thursday and Saturday nights throughout the months of July and August. Performing on the inaugural evening was The Show Dance Co. & Transitions Dance Co.

ate August is always reserved for downtime as many are off gallivanting on their holidays. The weather cooled and pre National week preparations commenced. Dance music dominated, with the annual Electronic Music Festival and then the Gibraltar Sun Festival. The ‘back to school’ feeling truly set it with the commencement of the fair and the closing of a very well received Summer Nights programme, traditionally marking the end of the Summer for many. 14

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

around town

ugust marked the anniversary of Gibraltar’s most significant founding father, having been at the forefront of developing the political system that we are familiar with today, Sir Joshua Hassan was honoured on his 100th Birthday. The current Chief Minister announced a move to immortalize the former chief minister on a new Gibraltar £100 note. A reception brought together many that knew him through differing circumstances.

Electronic Music Festival

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

hello there

Claire Lawrance, 44 Managing Director, Brunos

Adrianna Duffy - Parody, 10 St Anne’s Middle School

Sonia McKay, 43 Senior Company Administrator, Fiduciary

Marilyn Monroe: I would love to spend a night in Hollywood with her partying the night away and see if she’s as good as me. Marilyn was a sex icon and a role model to women all over the world which is why I’d choose her.

Taylor Swift: I would love to make a music video with her as I love dancing so much I would also like to choreograph the music video. The reason love her songs is because she writes her songs on her personal expiriences.

Brad Pitt: He is drop-dead gorgeous. I think it’s best to refrain from telling you what we’d do as minors (and my other half) might read this. But I think you could somewhat imagine! ;)

WHO WOULD YOU LIKE

Gwendolyn Deitllavi, 22 Hairdresser, Nikos Gentlemen’s Cut

Rebecca Kirwan, 30 Barmaid, Three Owls

Laura Oakes, 26 Shop Assistant, AimeeJay’s

Justin Bieber: I would love to spend some time with him and maybe write a song.

Michael Jackson: I want him to teach me the moonwalk because I think he’s an inspiration to dance and music.

Paul Wella: Because he is a Rock God! I’d make him serenade me whilst having a chippy tea! And that’s just for starters...

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

hello there

Jim Wright, 64 Company Director, The Store David Cameron: I’d go to a nice restaurant and over a meal have a discussion about the infringement of British Gibraltar territorial waters. Hopefully after several Brandy’s I could get him to sort it out

David Bradford, 19 Bar staff, Cannon Bar Sir Bobby Robson: I would like to talk to him over a few beers about football and his time at Newcastle FC. I would love to learn his insight into the beautiful game, also his stories over the years and possibly go for a kickabout in St James Park. As a Newcastle fan from birth, he was my hero. He was a Geordie at heart and a man with a brain of gold.

TO MEET?

Albert Borrell, 31 Bank Manager, Gibraltar International Bank Pablo Iglesias: I would spend a day on his campaign trail as the leader of Podemos in Spain. He is a highly commended academic in the areas of international law and political science, as well as a strong leftist. Few round the world would have a better insight into the disenchantment of European societies with the current political class. I may even try to convince him to come down to Gibraltar and learn about our predominantly socialist and wellbeing-focussed society, and to support our current plight!

Mike Nicholls, 48 Managing Director, Chesterton

Francis Gomez, 57 Range Warden, M.O.D.

Alex Sztejnmiler, 30 Supervisor, Pizza Express

David Gold: As owner of West Ham United I would discuss the five year business plan for the Hammers plus muscle my way onto the board of directors.

Jimi Hendrix: I would speak to him about the guitar and try to play as good he did.

Stephen Harper: He’s the Prime Minister of Canada and I would like to have dinner and drinks and pick his brain about current Canadian issues and maybe raise a few debatable issues.

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

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finance, business, property words | Ian Le Breton

BIZ JETS Who owns them and why?

n July, as anticipated in a previous column, I was lucky enough to participate in the government‘s inaugural Gibraltar Maritime Week. This event brought industry professionals from around the world to the Rock, together with client representatives and even a well-known superyacht master. It culminated in a three-day conference with a day dedicated to ships, crew and seafarers, and superyachts respectively – which was hosted, appropriately, on board our very own floating luxury hotel Sunborn. Gibraltar Maritime Week was an excellent platform for promoting the Rock and showcasing the resources and expertise that is based here. Let us hope that it gives the marine sector of our economy the boost it deserves. However, regular readers will know that I prefer things that fly rather than float. I may have allowed my Private Pilot Licence to lapse in the last few years but I remain fascinated by all aspects of aviation. Indeed, it was one GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

of the most important factors I took into consideration when, several years ago now, I bought my apartment in Gibraltar with a view of the airport.

that such aircraft should be viewed as business tools, aimed at getting wealthy or influential passengers from A to B far more efficiently than using scheduled services.

And therein lies an interesting point. Visitors to my place generally remark along the lines of: “I suppose it can’t be very noisy with just a couple of flights a day”. I remind them that the number of scheduled services to and from the Rock is increasing all the time – just this summer new routes to Bristol and Tangier have been launched. An even more interesting story is the growing number of general aviation movements seen. In the main, the general aviation we see in Gibraltar is thanks to private business aircraft, or to use the vernacular, biz-jets.

After all, I pointed out that whilst one could pootle about in a superyacht without really needing to go anywhere, any suggestion of “pootling about” in a jet would very likely ruin your day. There’s a well-known story of one biz-jet customer demanding a real granite floor. Imagine what that does to a jet’s weight and carbon footprint! However, even if some of them are extremely lavish inside or just plain “over the top”, I believe firmly that executive jets are tools, not toys.

This is not the first time I have written about biz-jets in this column; in April 2011, I penned a piece for the magazine entitled “Executive aircraft – toy or tool?” Not perhaps surprisingly, I came to the conclusion

In the past few years, we have seen many companies in the public eye downplaying – or even eliminating – their use of corporate jets. Tesco’s new chief executive Dave Lewis pledged to scrap the firm’s fleet of five jets when he joined last September. However, a new $50m (£34m) Gulfstream 19

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G550 plane was already on order and just happened to arrive only days after the retailer admitted overestimating its first-half profits by £250m. Clearly, the timing was not good. That plane was sold in November and Tesco has now disposed of them all. Other private jet owners, however, are continuing to order the largest jets – even the VIP business jet versions of both Boeing and Airbus airliners. They may be the same size and shape as their commercial cousins, but they are positively palatial inside. Not of course that I would want to swap any of that for my regular 11C seat thank you (he lied none too convincingly). So has anything changed in the intervening time? After all (to misquote former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson), four years is a long time in aviation. Focusing on the financial aspects of the business

aviation industry, back in 2011 most of the developed world was still very much in the grip of the global downturn – from which most major economies are only now, thankfully, recovering. This recovery, however, is happening at very different speeds in different regions and countries so it should come as no surprise that the present state of the corporate jet market varies too. For executives who are more concerned with auditors, shareholders and public opinion, the days of heady corporate excess – and lavish executive jets – are gone. Cost effective biz jet travel now prevails in its place. That is not to say that the luxury end is any less busy – it’s just that the user profile has altered dramatically in the past few years. New, more cost effective models have entered the market recently, such as the super fuel efficient HondaJet or the

groundbreaking and highly versatile Pilatus PC-24, which is designed to be capable of operation from unpaved runways and grass strips and boasts a cargo door to boot. Demand is so high for the latter that the order book is presently closed. Established biz-jet manufacturers such as Dassault, Bombardier and Gulfstream have also been targeting the luxury end – although with models marketed as 5X or 8X, Global 7000 or 8000, and G500 or G600 respectively, one might need a maths degree as well as being mighty rich to own one of these spectacular examples. Ownership options have also developed over the last four years. Today, we are seeing much greater use of fractional ownership – sometimes described as “timeshare in the skies” – whereby customers purchase blocks of flying hours from operators such as NetJets, a subsidiary of

Interior design for 787 bizjet

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The current demand for this kind of model is best illustrated by the fact that in June 2012, NetJets placed the largest aircraft order in private aviation history – 75 Bombardier Challenger 350 and 25 Bombardier Challenger 650 jets, with options for another 125 and 50 aircraft respectively. On the same day, NetJets placed another firm order for 25 Cessna Citation Latitude with options for 125 more. When considering biz-jet use, ground facilities are a vital component in the mix. Gibraltar’s airport is a good example of how things are progressing. Until the airport tunnel is completed, every aircraft movement requires the closure of the main road in and out of Gibraltar. Everyone accepts the necessity for this when it comes to airliners or military planes, but it’s less easy to tolerate being stuck in a queue waiting for a tiny jet seating perhaps three or four people at most to take off or land. Inevitably, frustration builds from time to time. The tunnel cannot come quickly enough in my opinion. The ownership of such assets is a confidential matter and, because most jets are “owned” by companies, it is generally not possible to find out who is on board. But consider this when you are next held up in such a queue. The people these jets are carrying are likely to be extremely wealthy or influential decision makers. They are flying in to Gibraltar for a reason and that reason may well be related to a local investment or an investment that is being structured out of Gibraltar. In both cases, their presence is generating local employment or generating local fees.

Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway. New types of “membership operator”, such as Wheels Up, are also attracting interest, and aircraft of this type are landing at Gibraltar airport with increasing regularity.

So, however long the queue, we should encourage and welcome these small aircraft. Their use of Gibraltar airport can only be a good thing. And finally, a word about the airport facilities themselves. Over the last few years, visiting biz-jet users have begun using the impressive state of the art Wessex Lounge. It is located underneath the public viewing gallery and is well equipped with conference and catering facilities. Immigration and customs formalities can be carried out there too. At present, there are no real facilities for the jets themselves beyond refuelling. A lack of dedicated hangar space means that aircraft cannot be based or maintained here. But when the tunnel is established and the number of aircraft movements is no longer such an acute logistical problem, l hope to see a corresponding increase in the airport’s usage – resulting in further development, and yes, more employment.

Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner by Andrew Winch Designs

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My thanks go to Brian T Richards of RegisterAnAircraft.com, Sovereign’s aviation division, for some of the more technical detail used in this piece. I end with this simple question. Do we need and should we encourage more visits by business aircraft here in Gibraltar? You bet – we should be welcoming them with open arms. Or, in “control tower” parlance, “Bizjet, you are clear to land in Gibraltar!”

Ian Le Breton is Managing Director of Sovereign Trust (Gibraltar) Limited Tel: +350 200 76173 Email: ilebreton@ SovereignGroup.com Boeing Business Jet

business words | Callie Lombard Chief Country Officer, Barclays

CHANGE & ADAPT Responsiveness to change ignites progress and leads to improvement

hree months to the day, my family and I were busy boarding a flight in Johannesburg, South Africa en route to Heathrow airport, from where we were scheduled to take a connecting flight to our eventual destination, Gibraltar, and our new home on the Rock. We travelled 15,533 kilometres to a country that we had never visited in person, which was only known to us by what the Internet had revealed, and it still keeps secrets, believe you me. Nor did we visit the Rock, prior to me taking up my appointment, to scout around to see whether it could be our new home. However, we decided to take the leap and make every kilometre worth its while to pursue our personal purpose in life, to have a positive impact in the lives of the people we encounter, the companies we work for and the community we live in. My family and I might not have been born in Gibraltar, but we chose to be Gibraltarians.

As a trained financing and insolvency lawyer with several years of experience in different roles in financing institutions, I took up the position of managing Barclays Gibraltar because it has always been my desire and intention to expand my competencies. On completion of two degrees, several diplomas and a LLM in International Economic Law at the University of South Africa, I completed a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA) at Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University, plus further studies at Nottingham Trent University just prior to my arrival on the Rock. I joined Barclays Gibraltar at a time of great change and challenge, but with the advantage of having the support of a competent, committed and dedicated team. My family and I arrived on the Rock the day after the Barclays Gibraltar Main Street branch had closed its doors, concluding what many perceived to be the end of a

Barclays’ association with the Rock dating back more than 126 years. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Barclays had merely adapted to a changing financial environment and in its changed structure the association with the Rock remains. Though it is human to resist change, in the world of finance, it is said that ‘the only constant is change’, you have to learn to embrace it. With economies around the world starting to slowly emerge from the ravages of what is known as the financial crisis of 2009, so too is the world of finance, recovering and adapting. In Gibraltar, we are blessed with a vibrant economy, with a constant reported economic growth of 10%, a budget surplus, unemployment at its lowest levels and extensive investment in the development of human capital through, amongst other, the University of Gibraltar that is due to open its doors this month.

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For us at Barclays, the challenge remains how to best embrace these exciting changes, to harness it in our continual pursuit of improvement. Our approach is best personified by the insights provided by Charles Darwin, George Bernard Shaw and Winston Churchill. Charles Darwin contended that ‘it is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change’, George Bernard Shaw remarked that ‘progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything’ and Winston Churchill that, ‘to improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.’

Contemplate for a moment, in a social environment or setting, be it a restaurant for instance, how many people have various mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablets. Retail banking itself entered an era of non-cash based future with banking being channelled and facilitated by electronic devices rather than in person. As a consequence, banks must change and adapt to an ever changing future. It can no longer be expected of financial institutions to merely continue to offer traditional services, since even by implication, there is no longer such a thing as ‘traditional services’. As the demands of the market change, so too, do the services of the financial institutions. Barclays Gibraltar now continues to provide global solutions to Corporate, Intermediary and Fiduciary clients, as well as mortgages to the local retail market. Our clients will now, dependant on their profile, be able to make use of our London or Jersey platforms, supported by our Gibraltar based relationship teams providing specialist support and partnering with our clients in finding the best banking solution suited to their structure. Our social commitment to the community also remains unequivocal, as our sponsorship of this year’s Gibraltar literary festival attests. In emphasis of our change in focus, Lao Tzu, infamous for the immortal words ‘The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step’, also said ‘If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.’ At Barclays, we are cognisant of the ever changing financial environment and constantly consider how to best embrace these changes, how to harness it, in our continual pursuit of improvement and helping people and communities to achieve their ambitions in the right way. Callie Lombard GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

business words | Leah Carnegie The HR Dept.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION A guide to mediating workplace disagreements

ike Talbot, MD of UK Mediation, was one of the key speakers at the Citizen’s Advice Bureau ‘Pathways to Resolution’ conference in June this year. Mike’s observations are that in today’s workplace, different people’s behaviors, different working styles, or differences in their expectations can all give rise to difficult working relations which, if not managed correctly, can develop into rumbling conflict, personality clashes, and factionalism. Ultimately, such situations can lead to grievances and other complaints against the organisation. Increasing numbers of organisations are routinely using qualified mediators to resolve workplace disputes. However, the great majority of situations do not even need to progress this far. Managers, team leaders, and HR professionals can all learn some highly effective resolution skills: to handle conflict better, to nip situations in

the bud, and to prevent situations from escalating into formal processes.

the bud, however, if managers are trained correctly.

“People fail to get along because they fear each other, they fear each other because they don’t know each other, they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.” Martin Luther King Jnr

When conflict is not managed in a timely manner, an unhealthy environment is created, and the chances of a constructive resolution are lowered. Mentally and physically the individuals concerned are less able to have open and honest communication, so it is hard for them to come up with, and to agree upon, creative resolutions to their conflict. Mutual trust and respect for each other’s opinions is required if the people involved are to generate a working solution.

Conflict is a natural part of any relationship, and if managed effectively, can lead to deeper and stronger bonds of trust and commitment. The majority of what looks like interpersonal conflict, however, is actually attributable to communication breakdown, differing values, or people making differing assumptions and having differing expectations. Conflict creates a feeling of dissatisfaction, resentment and anger and can result in personal attacks. Conflict contributes to feelings of insecurity and uncooperativeness. Its effects are known to increase stress-related illness. All of this can be managed and nipped in

“Identify your problems but give your power and energy to solutions.” Tony Robbins Conflict resolution can be thought of as a five-step process: Step 1: Identify the source of the conflict. The more information you have about the GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

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cause of the conflict, the more easily you can help to resolve it. To get the information you need, use a series of questions to identify the cause, like, “When did you feel upset?” “Do you see a relationship between that and this incident?” “How did this incident begin?”

addressing the real problem. In the calm of your office, you can get them to look beyond the triggering incident to see the real cause. Once again, probing questions will help, like, “What do you think happened here?” or “When do you think the problem between you first arose?”

You need to give both parties the chance to share their side of the story. It will give you a better understanding of the situation, as well as demonstrating your impartiality.

Step 3: Request solutions. After getting each party’s viewpoint on the conflict, the next step is to get each to identify how the situation could be changed. Again, question the parties to solicit their ideas: “How could you make things better between you?”

Step 2: Look beyond the incident. Often, it is not the situation but the perspective on the situation that causes anger to fester and ultimately leads to a shouting match or other visible—and disruptive—evidence of a conflict. The source of the conflict might be a minor problem that occurred months before, but the level of stress has grown to the point where the two parties have begun attacking each other personally instead of GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

You have to be an active listener. You want to get the disputants to stop fighting and to start cooperating, and that means steering the discussion away from finger pointing and towards better ways of resolving the conflict. Step 4: Identify solutions that both disputants can support. You are listening for the most acceptable

course of action. Point out the merits of various ideas, not only from each other’s perspective, but also in terms of the benefits to the organisation. Step 5: Agreement. You need to get the two parties to agree, maybe even reluctantly, to one of the alternative solutions identified. Managers who are trained to use resolution skills will assist in creating a productive workforce. The great cost and time that we spend dealing with conflict resolution could be better spent increasing the business’s bottom line. Resolution Skills A two-day master class in the rapid and informal resolution of grievances, interpersonal conflict, personality clashes, and complaints: 9th & 10th November 2015. Details: Mike Talbot - admin@ukmediation. net, or call +44 (0)1773 829982 25

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property words | Lynette Chaudhary, CTA, BA (Hons) Law STM Fiscalis Ltd.

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY TAX UK Changes – Are You Ready to Take Action?

number of Gibraltar residents own UK residential property. This may be a former home, a holiday home or purely an investment (popular, particularly at a time when interest rates are relatively low). It may be owned by a resident individual, company, trust or pension scheme. Sometimes, several properties are owned using more than one type of structure. Because Gibraltar does not tax foreign rental profits and neither does it levy Capital Gains Tax (CGT), there are no reporting obligations in Gibraltar. The same is not true of the UK, however: •The UK taxes UK rental profits even if the owner of the property is not UK resident. • From 6 April 2015, it also levies CGT on the disposal of residential properties. The UK is clearly extending its grip on the taxation of UK residential property. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

Keeping up to date with the rapid pace of legislative change in the UK poses considerable challenges. Now is therefore a good time to review current structuring, to address those changes which have already occurred and plan ahead for those which lie not far away on the horizon. UK Income Tax Rent If the property is rented out, the rental income less allowable expenses is liable to UK Income Tax. This remains the case even in the hands of a non-UK resident (Gibraltar resident) because the income is UK source. Deduction of Tax at Source In the UK, there is a legal requirement for 20% tax to be withheld (by either the tenant or the rental agent) on rental payments made to non-UK residents, along with the tenant or agent filing Returns

with HMRC. However, it is possible and advisable for a non-resident owner of UK property to register as a Non Resident Landlord (NRL) with HMRC. This is a registration process which, if HMRC agree to it, enables the non-resident owner to receive the rent in full, achieving an important cash-flow advantage. This however does not mean that the rental income is exempt from UK tax (a common misconception). The liability to UK tax on the rental profits remains in a NRLs hands, and an annual Self Assessment UK Tax Return (“Return”) must be filed by them to HMRC. The Return must be filed by 31 January following the UK tax year end (online filing deadline). There is, however, a ‘glitch’ because the non-residence pages of the Return cannot currently be completed on HMRC’s free online software. Accordingly, non-residents either have to submit their Return to HMRC in paper (rather than online) by the earlier paper deadline of 31 October following the tax year end, or 27

property Generally, the scope of IHT is determined by where the individual is domiciled, which very broadly means where their permanent home is. Historically, UK domiciled individuals are liable to IHT on their worldwide estate with non-UK domiciled individuals generally only liable on UK sited assets. Therefore, if a non-domiciled individual owns shares in a Gibraltar company which owns UK property, the assets in his hands (i.e. the shares) are non-UK sited and therefore outside the scope of IHT.

submit their Return online using appropriate commercial tax software (e.g. by purchasing the software or engaging a UK tax adviser). Late filing and/or payment incurs penalties. It’s worth noting that the UK’s March 2015 Budget did announce that there are plans to replace the Return with a “digital tax account” by 2020 but the present filing system is likely to continue for another five years. The current Income Tax rates that apply are: • For non-resident individuals – 20%, 40% or 45% depending on the level of taxable income (currently with a standard personal allowance of £10,600 for 2015/16, whether and to what extent non-residents continue to have entitlement to UK personal allowances in the future is under review). • For non-resident trustees (for most discretionary/accumulation trusts and most pension schemes) - 20% on the first £1,000 of taxable income, then 45% on all other (non-dividend) UK income. • For non-resident companies (not already within ATED, see below) - 20%. UK Capital Gains Tax In a buoyant property market, there is hopefully capital growth. From 6 April 2015, disposals of an interest in UK residential property by non-UK resident owners will be liable to UK Capital Gains Tax (CGT) if not already liable to ATED related CGT (see below). This is a significant change to the previous regime which, generally, allowed non-UK residents to realise gains on UK residential property free of UK tax. 28

The charge applies to gains from April 2015 and owners have a choice how to calculate this, either the standard approach, which is by using an April 2015 market value as their base cost (so some owners have already been obtaining valuations, although HMRC have said that an April 2015 valuation can be obtained at the point the property is sold), or there is the option to elect to use a time apportionment method (which time apportions the total gain to the post April 2015 period).

However, on 8 July 2015, the UK Government announced that from 6 April 2017, UK residential property held via offshore structures will become subject to IHT. This change will apply to all residential property, whether occupied or let and whatever value. Therefore, prior to April 2017, trustees and company managers may wish to consider the potential impact of this change and explore whether restructuring would be appropriate. Increase in IHT Limit to £1 million The much vaunted proposal to increase the IHT limit to £1 million announced on 8 July 2015 may make good headlines, but it is essential to read the ‘small print’ if the true economic value of this relief is to be reliably assessed.

The gain must be reported to HMRC on the Return (see above filing dates). The current CGT rates that apply are: • For non-resident individuals – 18% or 28% depending on the level of taxable income and gains (with an annual exemption also being available, £11,100 for 2015/16). • For non-resident trustees - 28%, (with half the annual exemption that would normally be available to individuals). • For non-resident companies (not already within ATED) - 20%. There are exemptions, which include nonUK pension schemes and we may see the use of pension schemes to hold residential property becoming more prominent. UK Inheritance Tax (IHT) Non-Domiciled Individuals IHT is charged on transfers of value by individuals. It is most often paid on estates on death but can also be due on gifts made during lifetime and on certain transfers made in to and out of trusts. There are various exemptions and reliefs.

Currently, on death, IHT is charged at 40% on estates over the tax free allowance of £325,000 per person. Since October 2007, you can transfer any unused amount of this allowance from a late spouse/ civil partner to the surviving spouse/civil partner for use when they die. This can increase the tax free allowance of the surviving partner from £325,000 to as much as £650,000. Furthermore, from April 2017, each individual will be offered a family home allowance (starting at £100,000 in April 2017 and rising to £175,000 by April 2020) so they can pass their home on to their children/grandchildren tax-free after their death. The family home allowance will be added to the existing £325,000, meaning the total tax free allowance for a surviving spouse/civil partner will be up to £1 million in 2020/21. The allowance will be gradually withdrawn for estates worth more than £2 million. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

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Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED) In April 2013, ATED was first applied to high value UK residential property owned by a company (this includes non-UK resident companies). Currently, this applies to properties valued at more than £1 million (pre April 2015, the threshold was £2 million, post April 2016 it will be £500,000). The reduction in this ATED threshold coupled with an accelerating property market could soon mean that the risk of an ATED charge has to be considered in relation to all UK residential property held in enveloped structures.

The ATED charge is based on property value and ranges from £7,000 to £218,200 per annum (2015/16 rates). There are a number of reliefs from ATED, for example if the property is let to a third party on a commercial basis or if it is part of a property trading business. There is also a 28% ATED related CGT charge on capital gains. Corporate owners may benefit from considering whether to take the property out of the company, which would require a review of their specific circumstances. Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) SDLT applies to UK residents and non-residents alike. It applies on transfer of UK property and is paid by the purchaser. For residential property, transactions completing on or after 4 December 2014, a slicing system applies, based on property value with a tax rate of up to 12%. Generally this change to the system should enable residential purchasers to reduce the cost of acquiring property where the purchase price is less than £1 million. Please note, however, that the SDLT rate for residential property acquired by a company is 15% if the cost of the property is more than £500,000.

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Residency elsewhere Finally, persons who are resident in other jurisdictions may well find that UK property income, gains and transfers are also taxed in their country of residence. For example, in Spain, the UK/Spain Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) allows both Spain and the UK the right to tax a UK property gain, so a Spanish and UK CGT liability could result on sale, in which case a foreign tax credit should be available in Spain for any UK tax paid (post April 2015). Furthermore, for tax on the rental profits, even if an individual is resident in another country that has a comprehensive DTA with the UK, its terms will always protect the right of the UK to tax UK property income. However, anomalies exist between jurisdictions and some entities which are recognised in the UK tax system may not be recognised overseas, or may be taxed more severely than in the UK. This means that owners should ensure that the advice that they receive is ‘joined up’ and considers the optimal position in all tax jurisdictions. With increasing enforcement powers and penalty provisions being introduced internationally, the need for comprehensive tax advice will inevitably grow exponentially. 29

property words | Mike Nicholls

TOWN LIVING Back in Fashion

he original City of Gibraltar included the areas within the walls of the Moorish Castle and the land immediately below, around Crutchett’s Ramp, built in the 12th century. Those were in the days when Casemates Square was a beach. The town extended in the 14th century to include much of today’s Main Street (albeit this name was not officially given to the entire street until 1913). John Crutchett purchased a property in the area in 1751 and his name has been attached to that street ever since. The name of each street is stooped in history. Irish Town was most likely named after an Irish Regiment which was barracked there. Cooperage Lane contained the Royal Navy’s storehouses and also a cooperage for making and repairing the casks in which drinking water was stored aboard a ship. This gave the lane its name. Parliament Lane apparently hails from the

fact that the Freemasons used to hold their meetings (‘parliament’) there. College Lane used to host a school. Engineer’s Lane became known as such because the commander of the Royal Engineers had his residence in the street. This heritage goes on (see ‘The Streets of Gibraltar’ by Tito Benady’).

But then, there followed a ten year change. With the launch of Ocean Village, Kings Wharf, Anchorage, Tradewinds, and Filomena House in the open market, plus the array of new estates built for the local three year residency rule market, the town centre lost its attraction to many as the alternatives had greater appeal.

Gibraltar’s town centre and upper town area are the oldest residential areas in Gibraltar and continue to house a significant part of the population as it has done for centuries. My own personal knowledge of the area dates to 2002 when I moved to Gibraltar. At this time, the town centre from first floor up was predominantly residential. Despite the lack of parking, it was the proximity to all of the amenities, and the relatively modest cost of accommodation which ensured that living ‘in town’ was popular amongst all sectors. Plus, of course, offspring of local families who had been brought up in town, stayed in town.

At the same time, the availability of office space was dwindling as the finance and gaming sectors expanded. Landlords of empty properties around the town applied for change of use and what was previously residential, was converted into office accommodation in order to attract tenants. Look above Galaxy, Top Shop, BHS Home, all office accommodation. There are many other examples. Irish Town also has an array of relatively modern office accommodation, converted from residential. 62-64 Irish Town even won a Heritage Award a few years ago for the quality of its conversion.

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property However, I sense the tide is now turning back. Casemates is not going back to a beach, but, residential is back en vogue in the old town.

What is now in chronic short supply is rental residential accommodation at an affordable level in the open market. Such is the shortage of residential rental stock that anything below £1,200 per calendar month is snapped up within days, sometimes hours, of it becoming available. Property owners will recognise this shift, the reverse of what happened in the last 5 – 10 years. Once these new modern offices become available in the next couple of years, there will be an exodus from the town centre leaving empty offices in the short term. So, with the excess demand for cheaper residential property and the new wave of office accommodation, I anticipate the next tranche of refurbishments to create new residential stock. Indeed, first out of the blocks and new to the market this month is the refurbished residential property above what was the Norwich and

Finally, after years of minimal new supply, developers are building new office space just as they built new residential accommodation a few years ago. Both, the World Trade Center and Midtown are under construction, creating some 26,0002m of new space in the next couple of years. Midtown phase two could add a further 7,0002m and Victory Place a further 8,0002m. Peterborough Building. With five separate new looking units now available between £650 pcm and £1,600 pcm, the entire building should let quickly. Others properties will follow and investors are now seeking older buildings which could be converted or simply refurbished into residential accommodation. However, buyer beware. The idea sounds simple but it isn’t always that easy. Access to much of the town and upper town areas is often only possible with the smallest of vehicles, in some places perhaps just a wheelbarrow! That piles on the cost of undertaking any works. Utility connections can be difficult as there is not always an abundance of connections which can be tapped into when creating properties with many new bathrooms and much needed communication and power cables.

for the façade to be restored which adds further cost. And then, there is the Landlord & Tenant Act which allows for a number of regulated and rent controlled tenancies. Whatever the morality behind the intent, the economic result is that it is often simply not worth the landlord maintaining the building in which there are tenants paying not much more than a peppercorn. This leaves many buildings in a shambolic state. Indeed, many tenants live in accommodation in which a hard hat might be appropriate. The town is a complex area for property development so investors should go in eyes wide open. But, I expect history will show that it will remain a popular residential area for generations to come.

Damp is always an ongoing concern with many developers hoping to knock down and rebuild properties, as sometimes this plan can be cheaper than refurbishment. However, the heritage we have in this area needs preserving and it is unusual for consent to be given for complete knock downs. Indeed, it is a usual requirement

Mike Nicholls is Managing Director of Chesterton Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 67434 Email: mike.nicholls@ chesterton.gi

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UNIVERSITY OF GIBRALTAR Understanding the needs of the local community

remarkable feat for education in Gibraltar, having appeared as somewhat of a pipe dream when it was first discussed with former UK Senior Liberal Democrat, Simon Hughes, four years ago, the University of Gibraltar will this month officially open its doors and offer up its services. The Latin phrase universitas magistrorum et scholarium, loosely translates to ‘community of teachers and scholars’, describing the underlying format of any institute of higher education. As reputable establishments, modern universities most commonly follow the German model concentrating on the importance of seminars, laboratories and freedom in study. Traditionally, Gibraltarian students have attended one of countless prestigious institutions in the UK, spending three or four years commuting back and forth between the UK and the Rock to complete their studies and visit their families.

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

The University of Gibraltar, situated atop the most southern tip of the Rock, will accept its first intake on September 28th. The process of establishing the institute has been a lengthy and thorough one. Meeting with Vice Chancellor, Gibraltarian Professor Daniella Tilbury, to uncover some of the more salient facets of the process, and what will be on offer. I question her on whether the Gibraltar University has been modeled off a similar, already established institution and she shakes her head. The center of higher education is entirely original in its approach and mantra. Although it shares ideals with renown international academies, such as University of London, and recently established institutions, such as the University of Seychelles, Gibraltar will not be replicating other models but seek to offer ‘internationally flavoured yet regionally relevant programmes’.

Recruiting The most recent University development was the call for expressions of interest from potential lecturers, tutors and research supervisors. ‘We’ve been overwhelmed! Our process will be a little slower than we had envisaged because there has been an incredible number of submissions. We are currently sifting our way through applications and identifying individuals who have significant experience as well as qualifications in the key areas relevant to our immediate offering.’ The recruitment team will archive names, to look back on years down the line once the University is moving towards more growth and offering new, and more varied courses. In June, the University’s website was launched, with crisp, stylish, almost tangible links to the courses and staff behind them. Currently on offer as full time undergraduate degree courses are: BSc Accounting and Finance, BSc Banking and

education Finance, BSc Business Management under the Business faculty, and BSc Nursing under the Health Studies and Sports science faculty. Postgraduate courses in banking and finance are also on offer, along with PhD research positions. ‘We’re very pleased with the quality and diversity of applications we have received so far,’ Daniella adds. The process is guided by an Academic Board, made up of prestigious figures hailing from wide reaching, well established institutions, including Keele University, Cambridge, the University of Rabat and the University of Technology in Sydney, assessing the quality of the programmes and lecturing staff. Research Focus Professor Tilbury insists that the research element of the University plays an absolutely integral role. ‘We’re very keen to foster research that is of value to our locality, that can celebrate our identity, that can consolidate our history, that can help us plan for our future,’ she explains, ‘we’ve had significant interest locally for our first cohort of PhD students. Our research committee is meeting this month and will be making some decisions as to how many

PhD students will be enrolled in our first year. We have a variety of thematic entry points for research, from environment and life sciences, colonial history, local culture, identity, language, social care and marine studies, all making Gibraltar and the Mediterranean their focal point.’ The focus on research will, undoubtedly, add value to the institution, in the context of the wider community. ‘Research can help consolidate and support, as well as anticipate,’ Professor Tilbury adds. One of the key movements that the research work will push towards is a Gibraltar repository. ‘We’ve had meetings with the key libraries in Gibraltar and we’ve agreed to collaborate to establish a repository on anything published in Gibraltar’. So, research theses and books written on Gibraltar will be consolidated locally. The heavy research element is what will set aside the institution from others, particularly in the initial years of their inception. This makes up a huge part of the University’s mantra of ‘responding to current societal needs, as well as shaping personal and professional futures through the pursuit of education, training, and research’. ‘That’s where it really adds value to our local community and we can excel as a centre of excellence,’

Professor Tilbury tells me. Two research institues already in place are the Institute of Life and Earth Sciences (ILES) and the Institute for Gibraltar and Mediterranean Studies (IGMS). She claims that research and PhD studies had formerly been the most in demand, but with the least local support. ‘Gibraltar’s not been able to offer any research degrees before despite the fabulous skills and experience of researchers on the Rock. The university is brokering partnerships between the students and supervisors in such a way that builds local capabilities in research, but at the same time develops research studies that are of value and interest to the community.’ Professor Tilbury is keen to note that the public will have access to the research information generated once it is ‘centrally connected.’ Short Courses Professor Tilbury touches on the ‘diversity of short courses’ that will also be on offer to students not looking to commit to a degree or post degree course. She notes, ‘everything from community capacity building for NGOs, the professional qualifications and certifications such as the AAT

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

education

and CILEX (professional diploma in law), to leadership development and organisational development. There are also proposals on the table for Gibraltar military history, and gastronomica courses.’ Professional development courses will be initiated in October of this year, whilst others will come into fruition further down the line. The University of Gibraltar is likely to maintain a maximum population of 1000 students. Currently, over 900 Gibraltarian students are studying abroad. The most common areas of study are Accounting, Finance, Economics and Business, with IT, and Design and Technology creeping in as the second and third most popular degree choices most recently. Degree courses at the Gibraltar based establishment are set at £7,750 for the full time programme. Similarly to Gibraltar based students that go on to carry out their degree abroad, locals will be offered the ability to apply for a Government grant. ‘It will go through exactly the same process. If you have an interest in undertaking a degree, you apply to the Department of Education in the same way that you would if you were going overseas.’ Surely, this could potentially forsee a rise in mature students, who will relish at the opportunity to study at degree level, without having to leave their homes and families? Enrollment for the first intake will be carGIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

ried out on September 23rd. Although the application does not currently go through the UK’s UCAS system, the minimum entry requirements mirror the UK’s. ‘They vary depending on which course, but University of London courses, are set at the same level as their international programme. For PhD courses, you must have a Master’s degree, experience of undertaking a thesis, as well as strong supporting references. In addition, you must submit a research proposal that we feel demonstrates an ability to frame academic research.’ Partnerships with such centers of excellence as the University of London, and Kingston and St. George’s are fundamental to the development and growth of the Gibraltar institution. ‘Partnership for us is key,’ Daniella relays, ‘we’re also building a partnership with the European Union Secretariat office, looking at ways in which we can support funding for research locally, from the European Union.’ The University operates in parallel to the UK’s quality assurance system, and the UK’s model of working. ‘We consider the UK to be world’s leading in the higher education sector and it would be foolish for us not to mirror the quality and standards that underpin UK universities. Naturally, we will not be governed in the same way because we’re not funded by the UK Government, we’re funded by Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar at this stage. We are partnering with Kingston University, University of London,

University of Seychelles, Oxford Brookes University, and we are currently in discussions with other international universities in Malta, Spain and Morocco. We think it is important to extend across to the southern Mediterranean and for the University to serve as a bridge connecting research and professional development opportunities across the Straits.’ University at home vs. abroad Before marketing the University internationally, the focus right now is on establishing the Europa based campus, and the course programmes. The institution’s official website and social media accounts currently allow access and insight for international students. The most prominent question for me is whether the presence of the Gibraltar University will deter local students from travelling abroad to study. Both, the Department of Education and Professor Tilbury are insistent that this is nobody’s aim. The Professor goes on to say she believes that it will ‘increase options for students who find it difficult to travel or leave home because they have professional or family commitments or seek a degree much later in life. ‘I don’t think it will deter students from travelling. I think we will see many local students joining in at a postgraduate level. I suspect Gibraltarian students may opt to study here once they have departed for overseas, gained the international experience and their 35

education

initial qualifications, and then return for a Masters or more advanced studies.’ Approaching soon to be a university student, Gibraltar Magazine contributor, Eve Jones put the question to her peers on whether they’d study in Gibraltar if their chosen course was offered on home turf. The consensus amongst the students was a resounding preference to study abroad and experience university life in new surroundings. 18-year-old former Westside Comprehensive student, Chloe Stone explained that ‘she would prefer to experience living independently in the UK.’ On the necessity of having a locally based centre of higher education, Chloe expressed her belief that it will afford many students, who do not wish to study abroad, the opportunity to study at home. Fellow student, Rohana Dewfall, noted that she also wishes to study in the UK in order to ‘expand [her] horizons and spend some time studying away from Gibraltar.’ She noted that whilst she did not initially see the necessity or appeal of the Gibraltar University, she now sees that it could be an economic and social asset, particularly to foreign students. Georgia McGowan also says that she would prefer to study abroad for the new experiences. She applauds the creation of new jobs at the Gibraltar Uni. Gap year student, Emily Ballentine shares the belief that a univer-

sity experience is best lived away from home. She added, ‘I think that the Gibraltar University is a good idea for those who don’t want to go to the UK or who don’t want to leave home but still get a degree.’ The most important thing about the University, Daniella Tilbury explains to me, is understanding ‘locality, and the needs and interests of the local community and the regional community.’ Her former professional experience is vast and very impressive, having been an academic and head of programme at the University of Wales, the University of Hong Kong, a senior professor at Macquarie University, Sydney as well as the President of the Copernicus Alliance of Universities and a Dean at the University of Gloucestershire. ‘Being local and having been schooled locally means I have some understanding of what is important and relevant to Gibraltar, and where the potential for HE might lie. I have been overseas for thirty years and worked at a diversity of universities. I feel this experience brings value to our local initiative. Vital to the success of Universities is understanding the business of the sector - it’s one thing to be able to teach and research, but it’s another to understand the economics of higher education. She believes that her senior management experience will be significant when establishing a sensible business plan

and international reputation for the new university, She touches upon the strong team behind her, including ‘a fabulous board of governors that will be guiding [them] as [they] lay the foundations for the future of the University.’ For more information or to find out how to enroll onto the University’s courses, visit www.unigib.edu.gi.

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

finance

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education

FORMIDABLE STUDY YEARS A-levels

s August comes to a close, so does the carefree spirit of A-Level students, as they are faced with a crucial junction in their life; results day. The morning usually maintains a light hearted air about it, with lots of happy endings for many that have worked hard for their success, and subsequent acceptance to University. With A-Levels offered at both Bayside and Westside Comprehensive Schools and the Gibraltar College of Further Education, Gibraltar holds an impressive pass rate of 96%, with a steady increase of 2% from 2014. Bayside Comprehensive achieved a further 2% increase in the pass rate for grade A* - B. Statistics for the UK, collected by the ‘Joint Council for Qualifications’ (comprised of the seven top providers of qualifications in the UK) shows that the proportion of A and A* passes has dropped to 25%, from 26% last year. This is the forth-successive year that the number has fallen. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

The Department of Education statistics, released following results day, provides a breakdown of each school’s pass rates, broken down further by subject. College students studying Psychology obtained a 40%, with three out of the five students securing ‘Ungraded’. The College’s Accounting class scored a 50% pass rate, with three out of the six students obtaining a ‘U’ grade. Other low pass rates, of 87%, were obtained by Bayside’s Physics class and Westside’s Chemistry class. Interestingly, Bayside’s Chemistry class scored an 83% pass rate of top grades A* - B. Westside’s French class did equally as well. Most subjects scored a 100% pass rate of grades A* - E, leaving Gibraltar somewhere rather close to the top of the overall pass rate statistics in the UK. This year has seen a record number of students accepted into higher education institutions in the UK. The Minister for Education, Gilbert Licudi gave credit to students, teaching and

support staff for their efforts. He took the time to visit each of the schools on the morning of results day. Mixed emotions were observed. Whilst most students were reluctant to want to discuss their grades and future plans with the press, the outcomes were blatant. ‘Congratulations to a future doctor!’ One exhilarated teen embraced a friend. Teachers both congratulated and consoled their students as they prepared themselves for the next step; accepting their first or insurance choices of conditional university places, going into clearing to grab left over offers after not having met the entry requirements, resitting the exams next summer, stepping out into the daunting world of work, and essentially moving further into adulthood. Eve’s experience Frequent Gibraltar Magazine contributor, and weathered former A-Leveler, Eve Jones reflects back on her experience over the past two years. She outlines a 39

education the brink of a new journey as I prepare for University; a place I previously saw as too far off into the future to be tangible. But, as this new experience is about to begin, I offer a reflection of A-Levels as a whole, here in Gibraltar.

Newly appointed Westside Headteacher, Mrs. Barabich and Darren Grech of the DofE

brief guide, covering her personal experience and what students can expect when making the daunting transition from GCSE to A-Level. Looking back on my Sixth Form years, it would have been so incredibly helpful to have been given Eve’s breakdown of the challenging study years: ‘Studying and working through A-Levels has been an all-encompassing part of my life for the past two years. Now, I sit on

One thing which must be understood first and foremost is the severe change A-Levels are from GCSE in terms of both academic and maturity standards. A-Level does, after all, mean “Advanced Level”, therefore a higher academic standard is required of you; which is attained only by an altered work ethic. This is something which most teachers forewarn you about. The final few weeks of GCSE classes were peppered with phrases such as “wait till you get to A-Level, then it’s hard”. I often think that this was said to try and calm our then jittery nerves at our first proper examinations. But, from the moment you don the blue uniform you saw on those slightly ethereal “Older Students” who walked the corridors, parting them (somewhat) like the Red Sea, you felt significantly more adult. From nine subjects down to three or four, you initially lull in a haze of new founded cockiness at your upper school status, feeling slightly smug about your free lesson time. Then the pressure becomes real. Once you become a part of the upper school you are treated differently in more

ways than one. Deadlines become your responsibility, with multiple ones each week. Each subject prioritises itself. So, it doesn’t matter if you have two essays to do for next Tuesday, you’ve still got to get those mathematics equations done over the weekend for Monday. This is (so it’s claimed) to prepare for the style of study at University; which is assumedly where everyone doing A-Levels will go. You are expected to read up on the previous lessons content before the next one. Otherwise, you may find yourself frantically flipping through textbooks to recall exactly what oncogenes are (a biology reference for you there). Free periods appear to the naïve to be “breaks in-between lessons”, a luxury that perhaps you don’t have to be in school at 9am everyday. These very quickly become crucial towards managing your workload, the time spent with backs bent over library tables and textbooks. Just as you have to time manage your homework, you must have a systematic study routine. Weekly revision tests occur, not necessarily for each subject but between the three or four you are taking. So much content is covered in an inadequate amount of time that smaller, revision test are a major part of the school’s study ethos. These additionally help us adapt to the test styles we’ll encounter at the end of the year.

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

education You’ll encounter first the AS and then the A2. In my opinion, two of the most stressful times of my life. One, because I do overtly worry so I detriment myself slightly there, but, unanimously as a year group we all share in the feeling of intense anxiety with these being the hardest exams we’ve ever undertaken. I, at least, chose to shut myself off from the world from March until the final exam. I halted my social life and focused on my books but no two people study in exactly the same way as everybody’s minds work differently. One thing I can say though is use the early years of school, from year 8-11 to refine your own study technique. To succeed in A-Level you need to have a cohesive system you can rely on and which works well for you. Sacrifice the time in those months well before exams. Go to extra lessons provided by teachers, they’re the experts here, not you. Most importantly though is to just try and prepare yourself as best as you can. If not, you’re wasting two years of your life to stress and frustration without getting anything worthwhile from it at the end; which to us as a privileged society is a crying shame. We have a golden opportunity here, in Gibraltar with the Government Scholarship Scheme. We arguably have more of an incentive than most to work to our best at A-Levels because so long as we can obtain a place, we can go to University free from the Student Loan economic burden. For the students’ part, a lot of the rewards you can reap come from the effort you put in from day one. I was never alone in that process, no matter how alone I actually felt. Aside from family and friends, the teachers were there to guide and help. Having successfully coached hundreds

Education Minister Gilbert Licudi congratulates Westside students

of students before you through the final years of school, onto university, they have years of knowledge to help you. Without my teachers I know that I could not have managed to complete my A-Level journey. Not just for their professional use of teaching me the course content, but their out-of-class assistance which kept not just myself, but many others on track and partially sane by the end of our journey. Providing that shoulder to cry on or a quiet talk of reassurance is sometimes just what you need. Someone neutral, removed from your personal situation, but knows you intimately well from years of student-teacher relationship at the same time. Many people say that A-Level is the hardest educational level you can do, and from having (barely) survived it, I’m inclined to believe them, but it’s not all doom and gloom, stress and bad night’s sleep. Yes,

there are challenges and it’s hard but that’s the point. To elevate yourself as a student since you’re ultimately working towards independency. University seems to be a long off adventure when you’re working your way through the A-Level courses. But just as GCSE was a stepping-stone so is A-Level, onto University. Through this journey you make a change in your character. You become more mature because a more mature attitude is demanded of you to make greater decisions and choices. Just as the A-Level work prepares you for University study, it also prepares you personally for living alone. It helps to make you more independent conjunctively with the more independent studying in school. Through these two years you learn what you are capable of as a student. You begin to foresee your future. A University. A career. Suddenly, those far off choices and events are happening to you right now. You are the next wave of graduates. School, which has been a part of practically your whole life, is about to end. A daunting prospect, but one ripe with new experiences; and that’s not just the Fresher’s week.’

Bayside headteacher Mr. Skinner checks out a student’ results with Education Director Joey Britto and Minister Licudi GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

life

FAITH IN THE NAVY Gibraltar’s new Chaplain

t the heart of the military community of Gibraltar is a new face, having acted as a naval chaplain aboard warships for six years, new Command Chaplain on the Rock, Mike Wagstaff aims to ‘maintain the reputation of [his] predecessor Mark Jackson. He believes that Mark ‘worked very hard to maintain and improve the profile of the King’s Chapel, and that is the ambition [he] should follow.’ Taking cover from the immense heat, Mike is perched on a leather chair in his recently discovered office, above the popular King’s Chapel tourist haunt. A week into his three-year tenure, Mike is delighted to be on the Rock, looking back on a short, but wholly rewarding and dynamic naval career that saw him on the frontline of a major humanitarian exercise, rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean. Fascinated by the work of a naval chaplain, and the role religious belief plays on British warships, I delve into his personal history GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

and how he has ended up finding himself on the Rock. Growing up in Derbyshire in the 60s and attending University in London, Mike obtained a degree in German and French at Royal Holloway College, London and, after pursuing a short career in teaching, went on to test his vocation in his mid twenties. By thirty years old, he was ordained at the College of the Resurrection in Mirfield, and from there he ‘embarked on what was a traditional path of ministry in two parishes’, finding himself in the centre of Leicester to work within a team of clergy. ‘We did a lot of community work,’ he explains, ‘including using the church space for the local community, which involved actually cutting one church in half and making a community centre out of half of it. We had times where there were more Hindu weddings than Christian ones and that got me into the whole area of social responsibility. In 2000, I was appointed director of Social Responsibility for the Sheffield diocese. I worked there for eight years and that involved a lot of proj-

ects. One was giving one-to-one support to people going through divorce, or the breakdown of long-term relationships.’ His follow-up work with communities trying to regenerate their economically devastated areas helped develop the traits that have made Mike excel as a chaplain. Discovering the Navy After being voted on to the General Synod, the highest governing body of the Church of England, he wandered in to a reception organised by the Royal Navy, ‘because the Synod was discussing defence that day, I got talking to the chaplain of the fleet who said, “how are things with the job” and I said “Oh, fine” and he replied “just fine then”. He asked me if I’d ever considered joining the Navy. Considering I was forty seven at the time, I told him I was far too old.’ With the thought lingering in his mind, he attended the Admiralty Interview Board and joined the force in 2008. ‘I started a very different job, after years of working 43

life in an office. I was back to first principles really, not least to begin with at Dartmouth where I’d gone from a seven-bedroom vicarage to one bunk bed in a forty-nineman dormitory. I actually began my naval career in Gibraltar, a few days after passing out in Dartmouth, I flew down to Gibraltar and joined HMS Albion in order to learn about being at sea. I learnt very little about being at sea because what they’d forgotten to tell me was that Albion wasn’t actually going anywhere, she was alongside for two weeks, so I got to know Gibraltar reasonably well. In fact, I wrote the text of the plaque in the King’s Chapel which commemorates the French dead of Trafalgar.’ Mike’s approach to religion is a non-conventional one, he remarks on people’s surprise in him having tattoos and how he is known to do some of his best work whilst chatting to members of the ship’s company, late at night in bars. He follows ‘the basic Christian teaching that God is with us and God came to us, and God stays with us and we have to plant our faith in the community where we are.’ He adds, ‘Religion is not something abstract, it’s something that we do, that we share, which is why King’s Chapel is so important because it’s a permanent reminder of that. Christian faith is about here and now and the material presence, the real presence. Also, the belief that everybody is good, everybody can be redeemed and everybody is loved. If you can show that in your life, that’s a good start to being a Christian.’ He stumbled across the command chaplain position during his time on HMS Bulwark when he was asked if he’d consider Gibraltar. Once his appointment on Bulwark concluded, he left the ship reluctantly to drive down to Gibraltar and take up the new position. King’s Chapel makes up one of the main facets of his job, and he is eager to become more familiar with its regular community. ‘It’s a very interesting job,’ he tells me, his demeanour is warm and calm, ‘the chapel, which is, I suppose, the spiritual centre of the British presence in Gibraltar, is an ancient building that’s been here since 1560. We have the flags and the memorials, it speaks of that presence and we are a military and royal chapel. My real job is to be the chaplain to the military and to get around the bases, to be there to give pastoral support to families here, but also to be part of Gibraltar life, to reflect the fact that the military is part of Gibraltar life and part of Gibraltar history.’ HMS Bulwark and the Big Rescue Mike initiated his military career on HMS Bulwark, one of the Royal Navy’s flagship Albion class assault ships. Most recently, 44

it made international headlines for its frontline role in Operation Weald, a multi force exercise that involved the recovery of thousands of migrants between Libya and Sicily. ‘In Crete, we stocked the ship for a major humanitarian exercise, which was picking up the migrants who were drowning in their hundreds. After a week or so of frantic planning for the exercise, we got into the area. I was in charge of the body recovery team because a lot of people drowned and that is what we were expecting. The total was 4700 people that we picked up. Because of the state of the vessels they were in, I think it’s safe to say we also saved their lives. They’d been abandoned to their fate once they were out of sight of Libya. It was an international exercise. We were working with the Irish and the Germans, the French and notably the Italians, of course. The Royal Marines went out on their LCUs and when they brought them back in, the languages I’d learned at University suddenly came in handy. I was suddenly not dealing with bodies. Nobody died that we saw. We did see evidence of an upturned boat and we don’t know what happened to the individuals. We can only guess, when we were searching them when they came onto the ship, a lot of them were wearing several layers of clothing so I can imagine that if the boat capsized, they just sank like a stone. We looked after them, it was very difficult for them, they had very little room, but we fed them, gave them medical attention and did what we could to get them back to Sicily or the mainland and hand them over to the Red Cross. We did that for eight weeks. There was a lot of media attention. I did that until I had to leave the ship because my appointment in Gibraltar was looming.’

His Role at Sea His role at sea was similar to that of an Officer, without holding a rank. With access to everybody on the ship, he listened to all staff members, ensuring absolute confidentiality. He speaks of the religious belief of his shipmates, insisting that he worked with many marines who served in Afghanistan, and much of what they have been through has made their faith stronger. ‘I think it makes people more reflective,’ Mike goes on to say, pondering carefully over my question, ‘of who they are and what they’re doing. They have a strong faith, which you can’t characterize as being a particularly ‘churchy’ faith, but they have come up against the big issues of life and death and as such, actually have respect for me and a desire to talk about those issues and to share what they think. Certainly [with] the migrant issue, there was a big difference between the service men and women who were there and who were doing the work and what they thought, the sort of stuff we were hearing from home, and the more simplistic things that were being said on social media and in the press.’ Mike’s integral position on the ship transcended religion, with him also being the crew’s main confidant, ‘the fact is, ultimately, there are very few secrets on a warship. The motto of the chaplaincy service is “a friend and advisor to all”, and I could give impartial and confidential advice to people.’ At sea, religious tradition is honoured, and many crewmembers attend the Sunday and annual holiday and remembrance services. During his time on Bulwark, Mike recalls, ‘we had a member of the ship’s company who was killed on the ship and for the funeral I was the person who stood in front of the ship and articulated things that needed to be said and did things that needed to be done. It was very interesting that the first people I met in Gibraltar was a group of sailors that had been at that funeral and remembered me from it. I did church services every Sunday; we did Christmas carol services, Easter, that sort of thing. I was a tangible link with home as well. I was not just with the Navy, but also the church. People who would not normally go to church on a Sunday would go to the church service on a warship on Sundays because it wasn’t just another working day. Days just go on and on in a ship, obviously you can’t just take a weekend off. A congregation of thirty or forty out of three hundred was far bigger than you’d expect, especially of that age group. ‘ Family Tradition Although he had no initial plans to join the forces during his lifetime, Mike takes pride GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

life

HMS Bulwark helps to save over 4,000 migrants fleeing Libya by sea

in his naval career. He is the only family member of his generation that followed in his father and subsequent aunts and uncles’ footsteps by joining the military. ‘My father had six brothers and sisters on active service in the war and in the next generation, out of forty two of us, I’m the only person that’s gone into the armed forces. That was in middle age as a chaplain, so I am maintaining by a thread, a family tradition, which I’m really quite proud of, and my parents are as well. My

aunt’s given me a portrait of my great great grandfather who was a drill sergeant at Sandhurst. Every job I get in the Navy, I think I’m fortunate to have and I enjoy it for what it is.’ His current position came about after a meeting at Command HQ, when he was almost a year away from a change of appointment. More than anything, Mike feels flattered to have been considered for his position and looks forward to the rest of his tenure

on the Rock. He hopes to become a familiar figure within the community. He promotes the King’s Chapel, noting that although they are a military chapel, they are also a resource to the wider community, with their involvement in the Literary Festival each year. ‘We’re always open to new ideas as to how we can be part of Gibraltar life,’ he tells me. ‘I feel as though I’ve been here forever but it’s only been a week. It’s about being available for people. I’m here to do weddings, the occasional funeral and family baptisms.’

HMS Bulwark returns back to Devonport after leading Operation Weald

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

life words | Richard Cartwright

BACK TO MY ROOTS A place called home

’ve always said that every individual, or youngster especially, should leave the Rock for a period of time in order to ‘broaden their horizons’ and assimilate the fact that there is a bigger picture beyond our borders. Many, if not most, however, will return to their birth place - a place called home. I left in the early sixties, at a time when many emigrated to the UK and other countries. Hundreds, if not thousands, left the neighbouring town of La Linea round about then and also, when General Franco ordered the frontier closed. Thousands of Spanish workers were left jobless, especially as work was hard to come by in the Campo area.

and a plate of sausage, egg and chips is not going to appear on the table if you don’t get up on a cold, wintery morning and look for a job. It’s a challenge... and quite an experience. You can imagine the scene, ‘you’re in unfamiliar surroundings where you don’t know a soul so having to cope in a different culture and meeting new people is a must: if you’re shy you have to snap out of it and work on your confidence or lack of it! It should all add up to make you a better informed, clued-up and therefore more ‘worldly’ person. The fact so many Gibraltarian youngsters leave the Rock to go to university these days is a major plus in developing you into a much more mature, professional and self-assured individual.

As far as Gibraltar’s concerned though, I would say there is no match for leaving your home town for a few years when you’re young to get a taste of what life’s all about away from mummy, when stinky socks aren’t going to wash themselves

So then, what happens to those who have either completed their studies, have returned to the Rock and maybe gone off again to put into practice what they’ve learned, and to those that left in search of a new and hopefully, better life? At what

stage do they start thinking of coming back to their homeland, or do they? Are there many that perhaps don’t entertain the idea at all? I would really like to know what percentage of citizens from any given country returns home – their place of birth. A number of them inevitably are struck by one of Cupid’s little arrows and fall head over heals in love with a native of the country their domiciled in at the time, go on to produce offspring and before you know it they too have children. Years pass and you stay put, because your ‘new’ family has taken root there and it’s pretty much impossible to wrench yourself away from kids and grandchildren and come back home. Others simply make a better life for themselves in their adopted country of choice whether financially or otherwise and maybe only return for a holiday or short visit or even never go back at all. The fact is that for many, ‘there’s no place like home,’ wherever it is: those who left La Linea in the sixties for example, maybe GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

life a case in point. Many have come back to join their extended family and friends to enjoy what’s become known as - per that well known maxim - ‘a better quality of life.’ I often wonder how many of those ex-pats living on the Costal del Sol and other sun drenched paradises follow the same pattern of returning home or, are the tables turned? Do they stay in their chosen paradise because it doesn’t make sense to return to the place they escaped from - the cold, the rain and the gloomy days and dreary nights! Your income and/ or pension might go much further also in the country you now call home, so you stay put! In their case many are retirees and seem quite determined not to return and live their twilight years in the sun with their new found friends.

The bottom line must be that coming home to whichever place is yours, is an innate desire to return, and hopefully enjoy a happier life for the rest of your days. You may have exhausted your ideas abroad, lived out fantasies of some sort, or perhaps have achieved aspirations you set yourself and now, it’s time to go home because home is where the heart is and for very many, your heart is ‘at home!’

But closer to home, in Gibraltar, you invariably hear of someone you haven’t seen for many years and who in fact left when they were quite young returning to the Rock. After many years, in the UK or in some other place they appear on Main Street and you say to yourself, ‘I know that face’. In some cases, the returnees are of a more mature age and fancy ‘living out their twilight years’ in their home town. It has to be said too, however, that you sometimes hear of the odd individual who has re-

turned to the Rock and left again at some stage because they’ve realised it’s not really for them anymore, they’ve outlived the local way of life. It’s a question of, ‘that was then and this is now’ and what was once home is not now their cup of tea. They would suggest they’ve moved on from that `village mentality’ they were once part of and that’s even taking into consideration all the pluses: ‘your kids can roam free safely,’ ‘you don’t have to commute to and from work - in some cases spending half a week on the road,’ ‘family is close enough to baby sit for you’ or simply because of the price of booze and cigarettes or the love for living by the sea! Yes, it really is a case of horses for courses but it’s interesting to see how, for so many after a period of time, home has that special pull or magnet to make you want to return to it.

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community

CHARITY MATTERS Gibraltar SPCA – Awaiting their promise land

ridging the gap between enforcing animal welfare laws, temporarily homing over thirty-two needy dogs, and raising awareness and funds to maintain their charity status, the Gibraltar Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is lacking one integral facet, an appropriate premises for the thirty-two, furry, four-legged canines that GSPCA Manager Rob and his wife Hilary Buckland care for. It’s a particularly sweltering July afternoon when we finally come across a house hidden in the depths of La Linea’s Zabal. We’re greeted at the gate by a graciously pleasant Rob and his small mob of medium sized dogs. Penny, the curious black lab, is always the first to scout out the new faces peering into the garden. Rob introduces the dogs, at least those that live in the house, stating their names, how long they’ve been at the rescue centre, and whether they are up for adoption or whether him and his wife had fallen

too mercilessly in love with them to ever let them go. Penny is the clear favourite having found a forever home with them. Coming up to ten years old this year, Penny has spent the longest time at the rescue centre. Seeking recognition The charity was inaugurated in the 50s as the Gibraltar branch of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Rob tells us, ‘we had to pay the RSPCA in the UK for the R, so we decided to drop it fifteen years ago because we weren’t getting any benefits out of it. We can’t be the GSPCA because of the Guernsey branch, so we call ourselves the Gibraltar SPCA.’ The charity has been based in various locations, and although it focuses entirely on mistreated animals of Gibraltar, there is no premises for the charity on the Rock. Their mantra is clear, they aim to educate the general public on the care, training and upkeep of domestic animals. The charity receives an annual grant of £10,000 from

the Government, but Rob is adamant it does not cover their costs, particularly the upkeep of over thirty dogs. Twenty-five of the furry friends are up for adoption, with others boarding with Rob and Hilary whist their owners are temporarily away. Rob also takes care of a few foster doggies, whose parents have fallen ill and are unable look after them for the time being. Having initially kicked off his voluntary career in the Alameda Gardens Wildlife Park, Rob met manager Jessica, who introduced him to the charity. He has acted as Animal Welfare Officer since May 2014, working with a small charity committee that has seen over twenty members filter thought it since Rob took on the weight of the charity. He notes that volunteers are reluctant to help, with them being based in the back end of La Linea. Similarly, sponsors are not interested in assisting them until they have a Gibraltar based address to work from. Rob explains that the committee has met with the government, eager to take over a potential premise near GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

the Women’s Refuge in the Upper Town. ‘As soon as the government say ‘yes’ we can have the premises, we’re there. We’re then looking to approach the Bonita Trust, who I’ve worked with before. Once we get the go-ahead I’m hoping that we can be established properly within a year.’ Rob insists that discussions with Government have been ongoing for four years but he feels the issue is currently ‘out of sight, out of mind’. He most recently met with the Deputy Chief Minister who expressed his support for their endeavor, but nothing has come to fruition as of yet. The charity continues to battle for recognition. Rob laments his wife’s staunch warning against taking in anymore needy animals. His life is consumed by caring for them. A typical day for him involves an early start: ‘As soon as they wake up, they want attention,’ Rob notes, ‘the problem with me is that I allow all of the dogs in my bedroom, so it’s actually twenty-four hours.’ The second part of Rob’s day-to-day work involves cleaning up any mess left overnight, refilling water bowls, and pressure washing the kennels that house around ten of the rescue dogs, including the most endearing pair of spaniels who are nearing twelve years old. Rob is most keen to find the two a home, at least for the last remaining years of their lives. Part of Rob’s endeavor GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

to bring in some extra funding sees him walk other dogs during the afternoon. ‘We normally do daycare as well. The last two that came in for daycare have gone back to the UK now.’ Rob tells us, after breaking up a disagreement that caused quite the uproar and set off the whole pack barking. The dogs are generally well behaved. The afternoon temperature leaves them unable to muster up much more than a steady pant as they seek shelter in the cool living room of the house. ‘I don’t know if any of you have siblings? You get on sometimes and sometimes you don’t, the dogs are exactly the same. They way I’ve learned is

through growing up with foster children and it’s exactly the same as dogs. They fall out and they fight over toys. When we’re introducing new additions, the two main dogs are Penny and Crumbs, who’s coming up to be the alpha dog. Penny will inspect the dog coming in, finding out whether they’re ok and then she’ll look after them and work along side them. We take in any dogs; we don’t look at their colouring or breed. The main thing is that they are all Gibraltarians.’ Rob has headed the dog rescue side of the charity for over four years now, but

his work with the Gibraltar SPCA far supersedes looking after the dogs. He explains that for them to be a registered charity that can accept sponsorship and donations, they must have a committee. The board is currently made up of a few dedicated individuals with a love for animals and a history of family dogs. ‘Once a month we have a meeting to discuss the progress of the properties we’re look-

ing at, fundraising and awareness.’ Dog trainer Gayle Everest is keen to develop a programme for school kids, whereby the charity would host talks at schools, teaching the pupils about the responsibilities of owning animals. The charity’s Facebook page has a decent following of over 2,000, yet volunteers are still far and few between. ‘We’ve had three people write to us, but because they realized we were

here, it was too far to go for them. That’s the biggest issue.’ The Buckland’s home is a rental property. All kennels and doggie home fixtures have been created and put together by Rob himself. The Government grant they receive is spent quickly on food and vet bills, leaving any other expenses to come from the Buckland’s pockets. Rob notes that previous volunteers have been English and Polish, with no interest coming from Gibraltar. The charity receives no real recognition on the Rock, despite it’s plight to educate the masses, and help rehome Gibraltarian dogs that find themselves unwanted, following a break up, or a new baby, or a family member developing an allergy. ‘One of our principles,’ he insists, as the harsh light of the afternoon dulls and the dogs slowly begin to regain their vigour, ‘is that you don’t give up a child because you’ve got a second child coming along. You’ve got to have responsibility over these dogs for the rest of their lives.’ Rob tells us that the charity works in liaison with the RGP, ‘we’ve spoken with the commissioner who’s given us a police officer to work with. We’re hoping to have a retired sergeant on the committee soon. If we get called into a place where a dog’s been mistreated we can go in, if we feel that our safety is at risk, we then call the police and they’ll assist us in removing the dog.’ Seven former GSPCA rescue dogs have been rehomed in Gibraltar, with others having found homes in Spain. ‘We’re not a rescue centre, we’re a governing body that makes sure that every animal related law is abided by, even right down to dog fouling.

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community If we see a dog in a car, in this weather, we will smash the window. We want to make sure that all the laws in Gibraltar are the same as the rest of Europe. We will take in dogs if they are mistreated, and re-socialize them with other dogs, to be able to rehome them.’ Rob adds, ‘there’s a lot of contradiction in the law. We’ve spoken to the relevant minister about it, but the problem is that we need to establish the GSPCA again.’ In general, Rob assures us that most pet owners in Gibraltar are responsible. ‘You do get the ones that are old books, and those are the ones that we need to help understand, you don’t have to beat a dog for it to be obedient. All you need to do is show it love.’ In Gibraltar, he estimates there to be approximately five cases of cruelty to animals per year. ‘It’s our policy to make sure that the owners don’t get those dogs back.’ Word of these issues spreads both through the charity’s Facebook page, and by word of mouth. The adoption process Rob’s history with dogs traces back to his father, who was a houndsman, bringing Rob up with a family of hounds. He knows each of his rescue dogs’ temperaments. As little Jack climbs up onto my lap, he tells me ‘he loves his attention. He’s got an issue with blokes because he just barks at them all the time, but if he sits on a girl’s lap he’ll bark at them to say hello.’ He talks us through the adoption process, ‘we allow the dog to choose the person. If the mother is still with her puppies she will look at the person and decide whether the puppy is suitable for them. Nine out of ten times when they come in and the puppy jumps on their lap, they fall in love with them, unless there’s a certain dog they’re looking for.’ The adoption fees are £150, and new owners often have home checks performed on them, ‘they then have a three day period to see whether they are satisfied with the dog, once they’re happy then the next step is the vets. We don’t condemn anything, you can have a big dog in a flat as long as you walk that dog three or four times a day.’ The Gibraltar SPCA works with La Linea based vet, Sergio Quirno, who is working towards opening a clinic in Gibraltar. Rob is also incredibly keen on fostering programmes for the dogs. He welcomes the temporary rehoming of dogs; ‘you can foster a dog for three years, three months, three days, three hours.’ He directs us to the kennels and its inhabitants, including the spritely spaniels, the three-legged ‘Perro’ and the alluring husky. ‘I’m old school,’ he tells us, ‘I work with packs. I’ve got three packs here and that’s the limit. If I bring in more dogs it tips the balance, and that’s why they tend to be in the GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

Rob and Penny

kennels. Come the afternoon these are indoors, so I let the others out to run around the garden.’ Considering the state of many animal shelters around the world, the dogs at Rob and Hilary’s house are extremely lucky. There is no shortage of love for any of the thirty-two furry friends. There is, however, a shortage of funding and volunteer work to assists the charity and the rescue centre. The committee is looking ahead towards raising their public profile, through social media presence, awareness days in Main Street, and by better developing their identity on the Rock. They continue to explore all available avenues in the pursuit for obtaining premises in Gibraltar, which will allow them to properly represent their cause. To volunteer or otherwise get involved with the GSPCA, email Rob at gspca@mail.com. 51

heritage words | Reg Reynolds

FAKE WAITER DEFEATS NAZIS Imaginary Gibraltar waiter plays a significant role in the defeat of Germany in World War II...

have written about Fred before but a new book provides more insight into how the imaginary Gibraltar waiter helped defeat Germany in World War II.

The Spy with 29 Names (Chatto & Windus, Random House) by Jason Webster tells the story of Garbo, “…the Second World War’s most audacious double agent”. Garbo, real name Juan Pujol, was a Spanish native who witnessed and experienced the evils of both sides during the Spanish Civil War, and became determined to fight totalitarianism in all its forms. He was known as Alaric (also Arabel) to the Germans but the British nicknamed him after the great actress Greta Garbo because they deemed him to be a great ‘actor’ in his ability to deceive the Germans. Pujol had begun ‘spying’ for Germany while he was living in Lisbon, one of the spy capitals of the war. He managed to contact an Abwehr (German Secret Service) agent in 52

Madrid and began feeding him false information on convoy movements. He made several unsuccessful attempts to work for the British as a double agent before eventually being accepted and flown from Gibraltar to London. The Germans never doubted Pujol’s loyalty and were impressed when he began recruiting agents including, the Courier, the Aviator, the Work Colleague, the Censor, the Mistress, the Portuguese, the Widow, the Venezuelan and Fred, a waiter from Gibraltar who “…loathed the British, not least because he had been forcibly evacuated from the Rock.” As a waiter, he was ideally suited to picking up bits of conversation from officers dining at tables he waited on. Fred, known to the Germans as Camillus, was one of Pujol’s early recruits and was also known as Agent 4. As part of his magnificent ruse, Garbo had Fred recruit three agents of his own – the Operator,

the Guard, and the American Sergeant. The latter in order to pass on false reports of American troop movements. In his book Agent Garbo, Stephan Talty wrote: “At the beginning ... he’s just reporting movements of different battalions in England. Increasing confidence in himself and giving [the Germans] what he considers chicken feed — little bits of military information that, at the beginning, were completely true. These were nonessential facts the British felt that they could pass on. And slowly, over time, they begin to mix that chicken feed with imaginary information they wanted Germans to believe. So, the ratio of true to false declined over time and at the end he was giving them 100 percent fantasies.” Garbo’s most vital work came with the D-Day invasion on June 6th, 1944. On the night of 5th-6th of June, when advance GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

heritage born Mercedes Guijarro Garcia. In 1931, Pujol did his six months of compulsory military service in the cavalry but he hated horse-riding and clamed to lack the “essential qualities of loyalty, generosity and honour”. His father had died and Pujol was managing a poultry farm north of Barcelona when the Spanish Civil War began in July 1936. His sister Elana’s fiancé was taken and executed by Republican forces. Elana and his mother were later arrested, fortunately, a relative in a trade union was able to use his influence to obtain their freedom. Pujol was called up for service on the Republican side but opposed the Republican government due to their treatment of his family. He hid at the home of his girlfriend, but was captured in a police raid and imprisoned for a week, before being freed via the Catholic resistance group

paratroopers were already fighting in Normandy, he passed on information he had received from Fred that troops stationed in the south of England were being issued with ‘vomit bags’ and ‘cold rations’. Garbo did not spell out details but he knew that his contact would take the issuing of such items to indicate that an invasion was imminent. Even after thousands of British, Canadian and American troops had stormed the beaches of Normandy, the Germans weren’t convinced that this was the long expected invasion. That is because Pujol had created an imaginary million-man army which, in Talty’s words, “…was going to be sort of the alternative to the real one that landed at Normandy”. Garbo’s most important and successful lie of the war was a message he sent on June 9th, when Hitler and the high command were debating whether the Normandy invasion was the main one and whether to send reserves from Belgium and France down into Normandy and basically destroy the incoming divisions. Pujol assured them: “This is the fake, you have to believe me.” Writes Talty in Agent Garbo, “…those panzer divisions were actually on the road, those troops were on the move, and Hitler sent an order turning them around. This was the key moment in the future of Normandy, in the future of that battle, and Garbo is really the author of that moment”. Juan Pujol Garcia was born in Barcelona, Spain, on February 14th 1914, the third of four children to Juan Pujol, a wealthy Catalan factory owner, and AndalusianGIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

Juan Pujol García AKA Garbo AKA Arabel

Socorro Blanco. They hid him and provided with fake identity papers. Pujol joined the Republican side using the false papers with the intention to desert as soon as possible. He volunteered to lay telegraph cables near the front lines and deserted to Franco’s Nationalists in September 1938 during the Battle of the Ebro. He disliked the Nationalists as much as the Republicans and when the war ended, he was proud that he had managed to have served both sides without firing a shot. His experiences left him with a deep loathing of both fascism and communism and by extension Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. In April 1940, he married Araceli Gonzales. They had one child, Juan Fernando. After the War, Pujol travelled to Angola and then moved to Venezuela where he ran a book store. He divorced his first wife, married Carmen Cilia and they had two sons and a daughter. In 1984, the politician Rupert Allason (nom de plume Nigel West) tracked Pujol down and invited him to London where he was received by the Duke of Edinburgh. He was reunited with former colleagues and on the 40th anniversary of D-Day visited Normandy to tour the beaches and pay his respects to the dead. He died at Caracas on October 10th, 1988 aged 76. He has the distinction of having been awarded both the Iron Cross and an MBE.

life A committed social media user, Stefano documented the entire Kitchen process through the exhibition’s Facebook, Instagram and website. The event line up could be followed via Facebook, with regular updates posted. Stefano’s level of commitment to the project was unwavering, having given up almost all of his free time to maintain the exhibition and work on his own projects. The uncertainty of the project and whether it would even hit it off clearly did nothing to deter Stefano, he was too excited over the prospect of meeting up with like minded people in a space they could call their own and potentially collaborate on large projects… Mid way through the month, Stefano and his co-curator Chris Tavares expressed their joy in how well the space had developed. Rooms had been split into working areas for regulars that used the studio to paint, display photography, create pottery, tie dye their clothes, share knowledge, make new friends and ultimately, develop a scene. Chris noted that this is exactly how art movements are formed, by bringing creative people together and giving them the opportunity to work under one roof. The Gibraltar scouts even got involved, using the studio to build a set of flagpoles for Stefano and Chris to display their Kitchen banner across. The project massively appealed to the Little Constellation Network, which brings together geo-political micro areas in Europe, under the context of contemporary art. They initiated the Listen to the Sirens Space in the Montagu Bastion, and took note of Stefano’s plea for an unconventional space to work in. It certainly ties in with the Mantra of Listen to the Sirens, which is described as ‘a an exhibition programme based on continuous dialogue between the artists of the Little Constellation network and artists who live and work in Gibraltar.’ One huge advocate of the project was artist Alan Perez who used the space to work on a project relating to the 75th anniversary of the evacuation. From the perspective of someone who is well known and respected on the local art scene, having won many awards in local competitions, Alan praised the GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

heritage

words | Reg Reynolds

t is surprising enough to learn that there is an opera about the Great Siege of Gibraltar but even more surprising to learn that it is a ‘comic’ opera.

Titled variously as Gibraltar, Elliot’s Wreath or Gibraltar Preserved it was written by the dramatist and journalist Robert Houghton and the music composed by Giuseppe Giordani. Houghton was well informed about the topic because his brother Joseph was a captain in the army and not only did he serve during the Siege but he was married on the Rock.

ELLIOT’S WREATH

The Great Siege of Gibraltar; The Opera

It must have had a spectacular set as one newspaper of the day reported: “In the course of the opera will be exhibited a view of Lord Howe’s fleet before Gibraltar, the Spanish gunboats firing on the town, with the destruction of the floating batteries by Elliot’s red hot balls (pun intended?), and an exact representation of the scene of action between the British and Spanish fleets.” One reviewer wrote of individual performances:

The main plot of Gibraltar the opera deals with the garrison at Gibraltar while a subplot has to do with the Spanish lines. The fact that it is a comedy is revealed by one of the characters having the name Count Toilet. Other characters include Major Holler, Papillion, Constantia and Sergeant Standard.

“Barrington – manly Captain Burkeley given too much to looking at the gallery.”

The first performance was held at Dublin’s Capel Street Theatre on December 18th, 1873.

“Mrs. Melmouth as Constantia acted with elegance and sensibility.”

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

“Count Toilet – Miell had a graceful carriage and an ease of manner.” “Baker as Papillon had humor but overcharged as grimace.”

Giuseppe Tommaso Giovani Giordani (1751 – 1798) was born at Naples and studied music there with Domenico Cimarosa and Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli. In 1774, he was appointed as music director of the chapel of the Duomo of Naples. His first opera (L’Epponina) was released in 1779. His sacred drama La distruzione di Gerusalemme was a notable success at the Teatro San Carlo of Naples in 1787. Robert Houlton (1739 – 1801) was born in Somerset. He attended Corpus Christi College, Oxford and in 1770 was admitted to Trinity College, Dublin. He augmented his income by writing librettos for the Dublin operatic stage. Other of his operas include The Contact (1793), Orpheus and Eurydice (1784) and Calypso (1785). In 1792, he returned to London and was appointed editor of the Morning Herald. The opera Gibraltar was a moderate success and ran until late June 1874. Unfortunately, the work was never published and from what I can discover, no printed copies exist. 55

art

Bayview Clock Tower, now on display at the Royal Academy in London

‘R

realised on sheets of scrap metal, sometimes naturally rusted, but more often than not, treated with various chemicals, that he handles in hazmat suit and a lot of creative determination.

Royal Academy Summer Exhibition finalist, Karl Ullger is eventually unveiling his collection of ‘industrial’ views of Gibraltar

These are unconventional takes on the local urban landscape, painted in oils over the metal, opportunely prepped with hydrochloric acid to add texture that be-

aw’, an eagerly anticipated and unmissable solo exhibition by one of the most eclectic Gibraltarian artists is coming to Space 92 this October, organised by Gibraltar Productions.

comes part of the picture in its own right. “When it has reacted and dried, I gaze at it and turn it sideways and all around, trying to visualise in it the potential picture I will bring out adding detail with oil paint,” Karl explains. Once, he found a rectangle that was half brown and half midnight blue, dotted in GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

scene words | Elena Scialtiel

ULLGER ON ACID Metal Rock views: Karl Ullger

white and red: “Behold! A starry sky!” he thought and turned it into Dockyard Cranes, a night view of the ship-repairing docks. Karl discovered this ‘technique’ by accident, when he spilt over a slab of metal some acid he was cleaning his brushes with. The metal got oxidised and ‘burnt away’ and he liked the effect that made him see something in the pattern the chemical reaction had created: thus Bayview Clock Tower was born, a small painting with a huge romantic personal significance for the artist. “My grandfather was a dockyard worker and one of the survivors of the 1951 Bedenham explosion, so painting a view of the dockyard on a piece of metal I actually found in the dockyard was like a tribute to him.” The rest of the series lives up to expectations, as revealed at the Gibraltar Spring Art exhibition where Stop! was just the GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

teaser of what is to come this autumn: this is a fisheye view of the old Queen’s Cinema junction from Trafalgar Cemetery, and it highlights the aesthetic value of modern life’s tools such as asphalt and road signage with an exquisite drawing of intersecting lines. A truly Gibraltarian collection cannot do without a view of Castle Steps: here Karl allows the rust do the talking and adds only a few brushstrokes to the flaking paint effect that the treated metal allowed. The majority of Karl’s landscapes on sale will be views of Gibraltar, well-known places from different angles, but he is also introducing ‘holiday snapshots’; an intriguing still of two trams travelling towards each other, taken in Zurich on the backdrop of a busy urban landscape, and by contrast, the rural bliss of a wooden bridge on a pathway from Genalguacil to Jubrique, painted on a scrap found on location.

Three standout pieces are included in the exhibition: although they depart from the landscape theme, Karl wants to show them as thought-provoking illustration of some issues very close to his heart. The first one is a gold-leaf covered polyester resin sculpture titled Scarred, with its irregular texture designed to denounce the heinous phenomenon of acid attacks on women: “The idea came after I viewed a photographic exhibition in Madrid which documented the crime with portraits of the victims. The visual impact made it hard to watch at times, but it was a very courageous thing these women did, so I decided I had to act myself to raise awareness about the issue.” An oversized canvas (230x170cm), depicting an unmade bed with quilt, pillows and cushions thrown around, will silently ask the question: are you careful enough about whom you get in bed with? 57

art “This is not necessarily intended in a sexual way,” Karl explains, “the unmade bed makes subtle connotations to different aspects and moments in one’s life and decisions we make.” Of course, everyone can see anything they want in it, because the role of the artist is conveying an idea that gets filtered through one’s personal experiences and taste: “When I am asked what my paintings mean, I answer ‘What does it mean to you?’. There is no right or wrong in art, as long as a message is put across, and the more open to debate it is, the more effectively it has achieved its purpose.”

exhibition, where he had submitted it earlier this year, in a competition open to hundreds of thousands hopefuls worldwide.

Bayview Clock Tower will not be exhibited in Gibraltar again, unfortunately, for local art lovers, but fortunately for Karl, delighted with the news it was sold just days after the opening of the Royal Academy summer

At his second attempt, Karl made it to the finals and last June he attended the vernissage in London, where his Bayview Clock Tower made the printed catalogue of the best entries, and was displayed along-

The pre-selection process started with the adjudicators skimming through a gallery of digital pictures to pick the ten thousand entries going through the first round. This year, exceptionally, twelve thousand artists were invited to submit their entry ‘in the flesh’, for the panel to view and analyse it inch by inch and make a final decision towards the collection of the one thousand-plus finalists.

Dockyard Cranes

side his favourite artists, whose work he had admired on those very walls when he visited previous editions. And besides his ‘role models’, he met persistence personified in a mature artist who succeeded at his eighteenth shot! Karl swears that the most emotional moment in the ceremonial opening was not the parade of all artists through the streets of London or the inaugural service, but the instant he stepped in the gallery and spotted his painting hanging high and proud amidst masterpieces of renowned artists. Karl is an accomplished artist who has explored very different avenues in media and styles: “Trying to reinvent myself successfully, I guess is the most difficult thing an artist can do and pull off,” he admits. And so far, his varied work with plaster and pyrography has produced three critically acclaimed exhibitions (La Dolce Vita in 2009, Beyond 2 Palettes, a joint exhibition with girlfriend, now wife, Chris Anne Alcantara in 2011, and his pyrography work Red, White & True: Gibraltarianism in 2014), just a prelude to rocking his metals – so whatever is coming next, for him it will be pretty tough to outdo himself. Visit www.karlullger.com and like KarlUllgerArtworks on Facebook, or follow @ ullger_art on Twitter. STOP!

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

art Karl working on Scarred

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scene words | Elena Scialtiel photos | Anthony Williams Infinity Photography

PROUD TO COVER Cover art by B S#arp

cover band proud of being one, B S#arp have burst on the nightclub circuit in the past year, since bass guitarist Ken Navas joined the power trio made by Douglas Traverso on lead guitar and backing vocals, Charlie Noguera on drums and vocalist Kim Soiza on ‘front person’ duties. Against all odds (they rehearse together in a garage basement) B S#arp has fast become the human jukebox for your nights out: “It is not about our image or creativity as an original band. It is about channelling the good vibrations. Our mark will be having made people dance the night away singing along pop and rock crowd pleasers and dance floor fillers, songs that stir up pleasant memories or help make new ones. Our aim at the moment is to continue to build on our playlist to complement our already wide repertoire and to establish ourselves as the premier events band in Gibraltar. A recorded album of what we are composing may come eventually, though.” 60

B S#arp have surfed Gaucho’s, Champions Bar, Grill 54, The Jazz Café, The Ivy, My Wines and other venues throughout summer and have also played for some private functions, revealing themselves as one of the most versatile cover bands that Gibraltar can offer, fit for any occasion and audience, from Sixties’ nostalgia to tomorrow’s chart toppers. They gel together thanks to the love for music they share, and orbit around the cemented friendship of Douglas and Charlie, whose musical partnership goes back many years to when they were at school. Under the name Tide, they were regular Saturday night fever fuellers at the iconic Sax II and kept it up week in week out. “This may be a dead giveaway on how old we are!” Charlie jokes. They don’t regret being only ‘almost famous’ because they play music for the pure enjoyment of it and watching people having fun when they give the beat.

“Many years ago we played the Fire Brigade Christmas party: we watched the entire brigade get in line and do the conga down Grand Parade all the way to the Queen’s Hotel and back, while we kept on playing. Moments like these stay with you for ever.” Despite not having their name spelt in lights, they were cast for many memorable productions during their career, not least Les Mis, where they were inducted in the live orchestra, and where they met Kim, who had one of the leading singing roles. “I had never sung before, having a ballet upbringing with some dabbling in theatre, but I took the plunge on a dare, and actually liked it,” she explains. Douglas and Charlie seemed to appreciate her singing too, so they approached her with the project of starting a new band, for which they needed a lead singer with great stage presence, to live up to the witty GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

name they had concocted for it: “B S#arp has a double meaning. The most immediate is, of course, an invitation to stay focused, the other is a musical reference to an imaginary black piano key between the natural B and C.” An imaginative name for an imaginative repertoire which adapts to the requests of the audience on the night: “We kick off with a couple of timeless classics to engage the audience and we assess what they would like to hear next, so we adjust accordingly.” They arrange their music to fit Kim’s vocal range, who can do a mean Tom Jones impersonation if the octave is right! Sometimes Douglas takes the lead singing role, but Kim is the main star. She can seamlessly hop from ‘Let It Go’ to hard rock, much to the delight of her audiences. She gives an ‘edge’ to her interpretation, but she keeps it true enough for patrons to spot the hit from the first notes.

Surely music unites them, and surely it feels real indeed – and heavy - when they have to move equipment around before and after every gig. “Yes, at that point we wish we were famous, so we would have roadies to do that!” Ken jokes. “As we all have full-time day jobs, gig days are very long ones, and hardly ever it is earlier than three o’clock in the morning that we have dismantled our instruments and sound system, stored and got home. That’s why we wouldn’t ‘tour’ too far from Gibraltar, but we are willing to take up gigs nearby, as we offer our

services for weddings and other large-scale functions.” And they would be very safe venues indeed, because Charlie is an emergency medical technician! ‘Be prepared’ is a sensible motto for Charlie who is a Scout, and for, and with, the Scouts he organised several fundraisers in which B S#harp actively participated. Anyone interested in hiring B S#arp for a public or private function or a worthy charity fundraiser can contact them through their Facebook page.

“As the evening evolves, we adapt the beat. We start with soft background music at dinner time, and then, with two or three drinks down the line, everything gets animated. Getting people up and dancing is the challenge, and we cherish that challenge. We love to watch people enjoying themselves because of our music,” Ken says. Band members come from very different walks of life: what brings them together is the passion for live music – and the sheer fun of jamming together. Ken claims that playing music feels ‘real’ reaching out to people in a way that other forms of communication - like the internet – simply don’t.” “Funny!” drama teacher Kim quips. “For me, singing is escapism!” GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

scene words | Elena Scialtiel

GOING OUT WITH A BANG Lauren McCann ‘Best Actress’ at Kent Drama Festival

ormer Westside School student Lauren McCann celebrated her dramatic coming of age with the Youth Best Actress award at the Duncan Rand One Act Play Festival in Kent earlier this summer. In a nationwide contest, this success was completely unexpected for her: “Just being there was an achievement. We were competing with a number of entries from UK groups who had more time to rehearse while we did so on that stage only once, having flown from Gibraltar. Yes, we had practised meticulously at Bayside Drama Studio using the exact measurements of the Kent stage marked on the floor, but it is not quite the same.” She continues: “At the prize-giving ceremony, I knew that if I was to win an award, it would be a minor one and I would be delighted for it. The judges started calling out names of the winners of the various categories of groups and actors, from mi-

nor prizes up to main, and as they continued to give out the awards it became clear to me that it was not to be my night - or so I thought. You can imagine my surprise and jubilation when my name was mentioned for the last and most important award: Best Actress in the Youth category! I couldn’t believe it! But I am so happy because it is a big thing for me, and especially because this was my last show with the Bayside and Westside Drama Group, and I feel I’ve made our playwright and director Julian Felice proud.” After two years working with Julian’s group, Lauren goes out with a bang from youth drama thanks to his original play about the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster To Touch the Face of God, that had premiered at last March Gibraltar Drama Festival and went on for more success in Kent. And now, Lauren is ready to play with the big boys (and girls) at the University

of Cumbria which she is attending from September, hoping to eventually pursue a master in acting and a career in UK theatre. “That’s my calling, and I cannot see myself doing anything else for a living, so I will stick to it no matter how hard it may be at the beginning. I will not be discouraged by one-line parts coming my way, because one has to start somewhere, and I won’t give up that easily, even if I am out of work for a while,” Lauren says, determined to navigate her childhood dream through any Shakespearean storm. In To Touch the Face of God, Lauren played Judith Resnik, one of the seven crew members who died when the capsule hit the ocean surface after the Shuttle disintegrated at liftoff. To get in the part of a woman astronaut from thirty years ago, Lauren researched her character thoroughly and watched videos of her interviews to analyse her mannerisms and reproduce GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

scene them on stage: “She gesticulated a lot; she talked with her hands all the time, so I did that too. I practised in front of a mirror to check I would look like her. I also tried to imagine what she and the rest of crew felt in the build-up to launch with the possibility of death hovering in their minds. They knew there was a technical flaw but they didn’t have a say with the administrators making the decision whether or not to abort the mission.” Nevertheless, she put the character across as a positive, optimistic one: “She was the down-to-earth girl-next-door type, strong-minded, sweet, witty and carefree. In the play, she is bothered by her boyfriend questioning her space career and, as she confides her disappointment with a fellow astronaut, romance blossoms between them. It is tragic how he promises to declare his love to her the minute they touch down from the mission, but sadly, it is not meant to be. The audience knows only too well, as the play starts from the end, when they are all dead, and flashbacks to the build-up to the launch.” Lauren worked at her character since October last year and Judith lived in her mind almost daily until July, during intense rehearsals and virtually any other time, so it was bound to influence her own style: “I immediately liked the character and playing her was relatively easy for me. Her voice became part of my vocabulary; sometimes I use her lines in conversations unrelated to the play!”

Lauren discovered the thrill of being on stage at the age of eight, when she debuted as the Narrator in a show in Southport, on the Lancashire coast: “It felt so natural being on stage and to be able to bow to the applause of an audience of complete strangers. I soon realised that it was what I wanted to do when I grew up. I had been in drama groups since the age of six: it was my way of expressing myself.”

As an Eighties’ girl, Judith had big hair as a prominent feature in her interviews and space simulation videos, and Lauren had to deal with that too: “In the script, she claims that if Americans are OK with Barbarella,

they will have nothing to object to her hair floating all over the place in zero gravity.”

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

fashion words | Alex Orfila

FESTIVAL FEVER Is Gibraltar in the midst of a fashion revolution?

summer of festivals has gripped our Rock very much like a fever. The first festival to kick off the season was the festival of colors, an event which had previously been successful in nearby Tarifa as well as throughout Europe, and which saw many now taking to a new location, our very own, Europa Point. There, the crowds lathered themselves in a rainbow splash of food colouring to an eclectic mix of music, headlined by British rapper Tinchy Stryder. The Gibraltar Electronic Music Festival soon followed, featuring an admirable line up of both local and international DJs. However, irrespective of music genre, as much as we would like to think it’s all about the music, this is not necessarily true. When it comes to festivals, it’s the entire package that reels us in. It’s a phenomenon which is all-consuming in nature as everything is meticulously thought out from how we plan our day around the acts we want to see, who we go with and, of course, what we wear. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

The culmination of these summer events is, undeniably, the Gibraltar Music Festival, slowly developing into force to be reckoned with on the festival circuit. The most notable development being that it has been extended to two days of acts as opposed to one as in previous years. This means, amongst many other things, that one must now piece together two festival outfits *excited gasp*! So, what is it about dressing up for a festival we find so very enthralling? Perhaps it’s the influx of international festivals that has influenced what we wear, after all, the attire of high profile festival goers including the likes of Kate Moss, a regular guest in the VIP areas of Glastonbury, have always made headlines. In more recent years, the laid back California coolness of Coachella has captivated the masses and has become a “look” in itself having come to epitomize festival style. To put it simply; in the world of festivals, it is the fashion equivalent of what the Oscars are to award season. Everyone who’s anyone will be papped in

the Coachella tents donning at least one, if not all, of the following accessories: tassels, flower crowns, gladiator sandals, circle rimmed sunglasses, temporary metallic tattoos or loose waves in their hair. This brings me on to my next point; how is having a festival the magnitude of the GMF, very literally, on our front lawn, influencing our style? With headliners like American rock stars Kings of Leon and fashionista Paloma Faith gracing the stage this year, there has never been a better excuse to get swept up in a Festival Fever. In last year’s festival, which has become somewhat dwarfed in comparison to this year’s event, it was hard to find a head not adorned with a flower crown or a head piece. Playsuits, denim short shorts and neon crop tops were all the rage. I found myself wondering where all these hippie chicks and ravers hibernate in the winter months or on any other day when there isn’t a festival, as it is extremely rare to see people adopt this kind of look at any other 65

fashion time. Sure, one would never condone wearing a flower crown to the office and understandably there is a time and place for many items of clothing. Although I am not opposed to this sudden burst of style and I am a strong advocate of taking risks with fashion (often to my determent), what I’m trying to say is that perhaps we should do more to incorporate fashionable habits in our everyday lives, and not restrict our experimentation to a glorious few days of festival antics a year. Typically, these festival looks can be broken down into three categories, although the lines between them can be tragically blurred at times if not executed correctly. The first, and possibly most popular, of these trends is the hippie look. People love to channel their inner wild child during festival time and flowered accessories, kimonos, embroidered smock dresses and printed playsuits are all the rage. Think flower power, Woodstock and its more contemporary counterpart Coachella.

The next look is donned mainly in electronic music festivals although it is no stranger to other events as many have been known to embrace this “raves goddess” attire in GMF’s past. This trend is characterised by comfortable, possibly even sporty, footwear in the form of Vans, converse and sporty wedges. Acid wash denim always plays a part, be it in the form of high waisted shorts or a barely-there romper. Accessories are kept to a minimum with a scattering of temporary metallic tattoos. When it comes to bags, only a cross body bag or a bum bag will do the trick, because after all, one needs to keep their arms free for dancing. Think Ibiza and in festival terms Tomorrowland. Another go-to Festival look is the rock ‘n’ roll groupie. This look epitomizes backstage cool with tassels, in the form of loose waist coats rather than kimonos, high waisted silhouettes and look-at-me retro prints. Accessories are usually suede or leather,

think effortless and not overdone. The cover girl for this look would be Marianne Faithfull and the festival equivalent would be Glastonbury. However, it’s not just the girls who become intoxicated by this Festival Fever, there’s a uniform for men too. Expect to find them in vests (always patterned or bearing slogans) statement sunglasses (usually of the wayfarer variety) and often a cap. Of course also be on the lookout for the occasional top knot (man bun to you and me) as no festival audience would be complete without one. What look will you embrace at the GMF? With the varied mix of acts this year, it’s clear that when it comes to fashion, anything goes, so immerse yourself in suitable attire and allow yourself to be consumed by the fever. If you’re still having some trouble channeling your festival alter ego, here are some of our suggestions…

THE FREE SPIRIT Embrace your inner hippie in the most stylish way possible... FLOWER CROWNS

ROUND FRAMES This summer’s go-to frames are circles and Miu Miu is at the forefront of this trend offering these sunglasses in a variety of patterns and shades

Are you over the generic flower crown? Try a different one, forget subtle daisy chains and go for a “look at me” piece like this sunflower version. Rock’n’Rose £48

Miu Miu £205

EMBROIDED CROSS BODY BAG

PRINTED PLAYSUITS

Every hippie imspired look requires a crossbody statement bag. We are loving this embroided version which oozes festival cool.

Paisley prints and cut out shoulders are top trends. We love this playsuit because it covers both!

Accessorize £19

River Island £40

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

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ELECTRIC LADY Stand out from the crowd in a look which is more electric than any house tune...

CROP TOP Always wear with high waisted bottoms and go for something bright and bold. Newlook £7.99

FINE FEATHERS No festival look is fully complete without a head piece. For this look ditch the flower crown and stand out in a feathered one. Topshop £24

SHORT SHORTS An injection of acid wash denim is a must. Topshop £35

ELECTRO BUM BAG Fasten your bum bag and leave your arms free for dancing in a look which is straight out of a 90’s music video. Always choose a statement one, sequins anyone? ASOS £35

I’M WITH THE BAND Channel the ultimate rock’n’roll groupie in vintage inspired statement pieces deserving of backstage access... TASSLES

THE TIE FRONT TOP

Rock’n’roll and tassles go hand in hand, we love them in this sleeveless number.

Keep your vest simple butadd a note of back stage retro with this tie frot detail.

BOOHOO £18

Topshop £12

THE FANCY BOX BAG This is the ultimate crossbody bag, keep your festival essentials to a minimum so that they fit into this gorgeous metal and Jeweled number which will double up as a clutch for evening looks. ASOS £40 RETRO PRINTS Let these geometric print trousers do the talking and keep the rest of your outfit subtle. Topshop £42

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

travel words | Alexandra Caruana

CUBAN MAGIC How long before it’s lost..?

ransport yourself back in time to 50 years ago with a visit to Cuba, a Communist regime set on the north coast of the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast of America, but for how much longer will it remain this way? With the opening of the American Embassy on the 20th July, the country faces potentially significant changes in the near future, including seeing an end to the American trade embargo imposed by the US back in the 1960s, which should bring Cuba up to date with the rest of the modern world. The Change But how do the people feel about these upcoming changes to their country? Although the internet is illegal for the locals, it is not difficult for them to access it if they really want to. Tour guides, for example, need access in order to advertise their services to visiting tourists. During this time, they are able to browse the web and reflect on how different life is for those in the West. To put it into perspec-

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

tive for us, the average monthly salary in Cuba is just under £13. Cubans however, are not short of the basic necessities in life which are provided by the state at significantly subsidized prices (for locals). One tour guide that I met spoke about how the Cuban people lived their lives in a carefree, safe environment. With the introduction of American ideals, he feels the Cubans may lose this way of life, as he claims that all capitalists care about is generating money. He did complain, however, about how little money the locals have access to, confirming that he, as a tour guide, is able to earn more than a doctor just because of the tips from tourists that he is able to earn. For this reason, he feels that all Cubans would appreciate the potential boost that the opening of the American Embassy would bring to their economy, especially as it would lift exporting bans that the country has been subject to. Removing these would allow the locals to export their own branded Havana Club Rum and cigars to the US, two of the things that the

country is best known for. Lucky for us, we already have the option to try Havana Rum and cigars right here, in Gibraltar, at Stagnettos at the end of Main Street. Havana Rum and Cigars Seeing just how these two local specialties are made is an eye opener in itself, and is definitely recommended when you visit. There are several tours available that will take you to a typical cigar factory, where you will see people making cigars by hand, with a large portrait of Raul Castro (the country’s prime minister) at the head of the factory, to remind themselves who they are working for; the state. Cameras are banned in these factories, perhaps because they resemble sweatshop conditions, with rows and rows of people rolling cigars by hand with their only escape from the heat being a small fan at their desk to blow the hot air around. Nevertheless, it is interesting to visit to see just how different life is there and to experience just how poor the country is. You will even be able 69

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Havana

to chat to them whilst they work, as the Cubans are the friendliest people around! You will then be taken to a rum factory where you will be given a demonstration as to how their rum is made, and even be able to try some. Be aware that in Cuba, it is pretty much the norm to drink whatever time of the day it is, whether its 9am or 9pm! Factories such as these can be found in Pinar del Rio, a province just outside Havana which can be visited as part of a day tour. In addition to the factories, you will see more of the Cuban countryside, a completely different atmosphere from the busy capital. Within Pinar del Rio is Viñales, a small, quiet town with a farm that will show you how the tobacco is grown and what stages it goes through before becoming a cigar. Within Viñales, there is also an impressive prehistoric mural, which features old drawings. This has recently been remastered in different colours, giving the countryside a vivid splash of other colours

Havana daiquiri 70

to compliment its luscious green surroundings. Viñales is worth exploring to see why it is Fidel Castro’s favourite place in Cuba. Havana, the city The Capital, Havana, is a total contrast. Packed with the hustle and bustle of their famous old cars, horses and carts and coco taxis, there is always something to do. One thing that struck me here, was that the people were so friendly, coming up to admire any clothing or accessories that you may be sporting before moving on and advising on the best things to see and do when in their hometown. Cuba’s people are proud of their country, and rightly so, as it is such a rare and different place to visit. Havana is a must visit in Cuba, and it is advised to first take a tour of the city with a qualified English tour guide. Ensure that you are able to understand and take in Havana’s sites so that you can visit later on, once you are familiar with the place. One thing is for sure, Cuba is a safe place,

and most of the time people are very genuine and willing to help if you are lost or wondering where to go. The only thing I would advise is to not fall for the cigar scams, where you may be enticed into back streets and private apartments to get cigars for a “good price”. The best place to buy cigars is at cigar factories, where you will usually get them at the official price. I’m not going to lie, the food on the island is very plain so don’t head there expecting it to be a foodie holiday with Michelin star restaurants. The main thing that we ate in Havana was pork stews and rice and beans with roasted vegetables such as butternut squash (they LOVE butternut squash)! But you will eat well, and I quite enjoyed this little trio that kept reappearing. The Cubans lead a very basic lifestyle and this will be reflected in the food. Cubans are big music lovers, and you will be reminded of this in most places, in the street, on tours and even around your

Mural in Viñales GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

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Viñales

hotel pool. You will also get thrown back in time with old classics that the locals love. On one tour we were reminded of some great songs that haven’t been played around our neck of the woods for a longtime, including Gangsta’s Paradise (yes, remember that one?!). For most people, access to the internet and new music is difficult, so they revert back to old songs which are easier to come by, and are generally shared and copied between friends and family members. A cabaret is a must watch, a great source of entertainment full of traditional Cuban music and dancing. Tropicana is rated the best place to go and watch this, with the club having been around since the late

1930s. You may find it is a little pricier than other cabarets, so if you are looking for something a little more reasonable, there is also a cabaret show available at the Hotel Nacional, which has the option of dinner whilst you enjoy the show. If you are lucky, you can get a table right next to the stage, where you will be right in the middle of it all. Before the Cabaret show, it is worth having a drink in the hotel itself. Stepping into this old-fashioned building really is like stepping back in time. Known for accommodating the likes of Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardener in the past, this luxurious hotel has been going since 1930. It was during this time that Cuba was a popular holiday destination for tourists, before the US

trade embargo was imposed on the country in 1960. This was due to the Cuban government nationalising American owned Cuban oil refineries without compensation. Ernest Hemingway was another person of celebrity status that became enchanted with Cuba’s charm. The author moved back and forth to the island as of 1939, as he had fallen in love with the place. It was during his time here that he wrote one of his most famous novels, “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” His favourite hangout was El Floradita, a bar known for its delicious daiquiris. Come here whilst in Havana to enjoy a refreshing mango daiquiri, perfect to cool you down in the hot climate. Whilst here, you can enjoy the great vibe

Cabaret show in Tropicana GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

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Cuban man with a Cuban cigar in Havana

that El Floradita has, with typical Cuban music, whilst munching on the tasty banana crisps that they offer you “para picar.” Before you leave, you must say goodbye to Hemingway’s statue which, standing at the end of the bar, it’s as if he never left. The Museum of the Revolution is a popular site to tourists visiting Havana, where you can see old relics, such as spy planes, tanks and vehicles from the Cuban Missile Crisis during October 1962. The main vehicle that centres the exhibit is the ship that was used to carry counter revolutionaries backed by the CIA over to Cuba to try and overthrow its Communist regime in April 1961. The museum itself is set in a beautiful building which previously housed Cuba’s presidents. It became a museum after the Cuban revolution. After your trip to the museum it is worth stopping for a bite to eat at Sloppy Joe’s Bar, which recently reopened in 2013 after being closed for 48 years. The bar closed during the time of the Cuban Revolution, as most of the bar’s clients were American. Inside, you will see old photos taken before the Revolution, showing just how popular the place was. Nowadays, you can enjoy a Cuban style American burger alongside a Cuban cocktail. Heading out to Sea If you fancy a beach break from the city, then head to Varadero, which is known for 72

its 20km expanse of white sandy beaches. For me, one of the best tours was the one on the way there, where you are picked up from your hotel in a private jeep by your driver, who will show you the sites on the way, including the two tallest bridges in Cuba. The tallest really was impressive, with eagles hovering around the site emphasising the fact that we were heading away from the city life and across the wonderful countryside. Here, we were able to enjoy “Cuba’s best piña coladas” served in an actual pineapple. Moving on, we were taken to a chiringuito where you were able to snorkel and scuba-dive at one of the best places in Cuba, and admire its beautiful coral reefs. These have been rated the healthiest of the reefs in the Caribbean waters. Even if you have never scuba dived before, you will be given a quick class in the basics before venturing into the water. Perfect for beginners as you won’t need to head too deep underwater in order to admire the beautiful sea life, with their starfish, “Finding Nemo” clownfish as well as other tropical, colourful fish. Do take the opportunity to have an underwater picture taken by a professional photographer as this will be a great memory to keep for years to come. After another quick piña colada and a change of clothes, you are driven to a marina next to the second largest bridge on the island, where you will board a boat and take a trip out where you can admire the wonderful contrast of

the countryside and the sea in one place. If you are lucky, you may come across a flamingo on the side of the water enjoying a cool drink. There is also the option to try some delicious lobster onboard too, as you will have worked up an appetite after your time scuba-diving! Finally, you will be taken to a coffee plantation where you will be able to enjoy a spot of lunch (a Cuban style Creole buffet) and see how coffee is made. Once you’ve tried Cuban coffee, you will be very disappointed to head back to your typical Nescafe blend back in Gibraltar! This tour really was a great way to break up the drive to your hotel in Varadero and couldn’t be more highly recommended. Our tour guide, Axdulay, or Addie for short, was also extremely friendly and helpful during the tour, and spoke perfect English, so was able to answer all of our questions. To book a tour with him, simply email axdulay2014@gmail.com, where he will be able to quote you a reasonably priced tour that is best suited to your needs. Varadero When choosing where to stay in Varadero, make sure that you choose a five star hotel. As previously mentioned, the food is basic in Cuba, so by ensuring you stay in a good hotel, you can trust that the food will be of a better standard, especially as most of the resorts are all inclusive. The GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

Beach in Varadero

most delicious cuisine in Varadero tends to be the locally caught fish and lobster, which you can enjoy knowing that it is also good for your waistline too! The beaches themselves are outstanding in this part of the country, complete with white soft sand and beautiful clear water. You will constantly be reminded that you are in Cuba whilst sitting on the beach, as Cuban music will be played with the option to partake in salsa classes. One thing’s for sure, you won’t run out of things to do here! Most hotels will keep you busy and entertained, unless you fancy kicking back and relaxing under a palm tree with a good book. Whilst in Varadero, you will have the opportunity to swim with the dolphins. This is an opportunity to be seized, as the dolphins are wonderfully intelligent

creatures. You will also find that it is a lot cheaper to swim with the dolphins in Cuba than in other countries. Although they can sometimes be spotted out in the bay in Gibraltar, seeing them in the wild is far different to actually swimming with them. The closest opportunity for us in Gibraltar to swim one on one with the dolphins is at Zoomarine in Portugal, but here you will find the pleasure to do so far more expensive. In Varadero, you may decide to take a half-day tour, where you will be taken by boat to a dolphin enclosure where the dolphins are able to roam in their natural habitat. Once immersed with the dolphins, you will find you won’t want to get out again as they are very playful creatures, and will kiss you, allow you to rub their bellies, and take you for a ride! This magical experience is one not to be missed.

Hemingway’s statue in El Floradita GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

When to visit The best time to visit Cuba is during the summer when you will be guaranteed warmer weather, even though the weather is generally good all year around. The only thing to be aware is that Cuba’s hurricane season runs from June to November, with September and October being the two months where a hurricane is most likely to strike. I visited at the beginning of July, and the weather is HOT HOT HOT! Although it was sometimes a little windy on the beach, it is worth going at this time to get yourself a fabulous Cuban tan, which is darker than you are able to get here in Gibraltar. Just make sure you take plenty of suntan lotion with you, as well as hoodies in case you catch one of Cuba’s downpours, which are common during these months. Luckily, I didn’t witness one during my time there, but you never know! Prior to the opening of the US Embassy in Cuba, we also saw the recent lifting of the travel ban that the US government had implemented for many years. This will make it easier to do a two centre holiday by combining a visit to Cuba with Florida which is only 90 miles away. This, as well as the opening of the US Embassy, will make it easier for American companies to consider moving their brand to the island, including large chain hotels, several of which have already been eyeing up property in Cuba. The one thing that struck me when I entered the country was the lack of advertising as we see in developed countries. On show were only a few adverts for Havana Rum and local drinks. With the lifting of the US trade embargo, will we see Cuba rapidly catching up with other countries, with adverts for products imported from the US such as Coca-Cola, hotels and other brands, with only the iconic old Cuban cars left behind to remember it as it was? Only time will tell. Be sure to visit before it changes too much and the true magic of Cuba is lost forever. 73

health

ANCIENT THERAPY Nuad Borarn in the modern world

uad Boran - Thai yoga massage is a one of the ancient healing arts of traditional Thai medicine. The roots can be found in Indian Ayurveda, Chinese Traditional Medicine and local Thai medical knowledge. Around 2500 years ago, Thai Massage was brought from India to Thailand along with Buddhism. Since then, it has been practiced, developed and handed down through generations. It was never seen as just a massage but as a spiritual practice, mostly practiced in wats, the Thai Buddhist temples. Thai Yoga Massage is a holistic therapy where the human being is seen and treated as one mind, body and spirit. Thai medicine is based on the energy called prana that circulates within the body in energy lines called sen. There is 72 thousands sen lines in the body, Thai Yoga Massage therapists work on ten main sen to ensure optimum health and wellbeing. Blocked prana results in sickness or disease, which can manifest physically, 74

emotionally or even spiritually. The main purpose of the Thai massage is to clear such blockages and allow energy to flow. In 1985, Thai government established â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Thai Massage Revival Projectâ&#x20AC;? aimed at revival, standardization and popularization of Thai massage as a professional alternative therapy bringing benefit to the community. Due to large number of tourists visiting Thailand every year, the massage has become increasingly popular in the world. Thai yoga massage is a powerful system combining: rhythmic massage, acupressure, assisted yoga stretching, gentle twisting, energy line work and meditation. Performed on a floor mat, both giver and receiver wear loose, comfortable clothes. The therapists use a lot of parts of their bodies to give the massage; their palms, thumbs, feet, elbows, forearms and knees. By working the body physically and energetically, Thai massage produces a highly therapeutic effect that helps relieve

common conditions such as low back pain, arthritis, headaches, digestive difficulties, menstrual and menopausal problems. Blood and lymph circulation are increased and internal organs are stimulated, all helping to strengthen the immune system and clear toxins from the body. The variety of stretching and exercises helps to increase joint mobility and flexibility, it is deeply relaxing, enabling the body and mind to rebalance naturally. The gentle opening and mobilization of the body has improved performance of athletes, martial artists and dancers. Since the technique respects each personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body type and flexibility level, it is ideal for most individuals. In Gibraltar, although not commonly known, it is becoming increasingly popular with a rise of Thai masseurs along the coast, Marbella being in the lead. In the Western world, where most of our days are spent sitting behind the desk, our body and mind take the toll. There are a few specialists practicing on the Rock, Sebastian Kobeluk being one of them. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

health When he was 17, Sebastian had a serious problem with his lower back. It was so painful, he was not able to lift his legs. After numerous traditional treatments which made no difference, he stumbled upon acupressure massage and finally was able to move pain-free again. Naturally, he got interested in traditional East medicine and after a few years, he chose to learn Nuad Borarn. He decided on this particular practice because it merges all the best elements from various methods. He says it’s a perfect combination that helps with a variety of issues: “Thai yoga massage trully is incledible. Many times, I’ve had clients who came to me depressed, with feelings of anxiety evident not just in their face, but also in their posture. When they leave, after the session, they feel light and unblocked. They stand up straight and their face is lit by an invigorated smile. Apparently, they sleep like babies too!” As you enter Mind & Body Lounge in the ICC, your senses are immediately exposed to a different reality. The first thing you experience is the overwhelming scent of sandal wood and quiet, calming music in the background. Coming from the busy Casemates square, this is like stepping into Narnia through a magical wardrobe. Sebastian locks the door so no one can interrupt for the next 90 minutes and speaks to you in his soft, silky voice which only adds to the otherworldly sensation. He invites you to lay down on the floor mat and relax. Your only task is to breathe. At first, this deep breathing feels forced and quite tiring but soon, as the massage progresses, you get into a rhythm, almost a hypnotising act that leaves you light-headed for the whole duration of this experience. As Sebastian puts his hands on your feet, any initial uncomfortableness that might have been left in your body, or mind, is gone and you need to remind yourself to keep breathing rather than drift away. Don’t worry, you won’t. Now, I am a massage junkie. When I lived in London, every time there was a reason to treat myself, off I went to get my body squeezed and stroked. Birthday?

Anniversary? I’d get a voucher to yet another new and hip way to unwind so I’m not a beginner at relaxation techniques. The Thai massage was a total surprise. As Sebastian pressed on the acupressure points on my legs and worked his way up my body, I found myself feeling new, previously unknown sensations that left me feeling cosy and sedated. As he got to my hips, my legs were lifted so my back arched and stretched. And stretched. And stretched. I felt as if I was doing yoga but without me actually doing anything. The positions changed and I felt lighter and… freer. This assisted yoga somehow made me sweat and gave me that exhilarating feeling you get after a workout. He used his whole body too, his hands, feet, arms and legs to put pressure exactly where it needed to be. By the time Sebastian got to my torso, I was floating somewhere between sleep and consciousness. When I thought my body was stretched and massaged to the limit, he stretched it some more and found other points to press I didn’t know existed. Any tension I came with was so gone, all I wanted was to stay there forever.

through my veins with so much force, I could literally feel it traveling through me. Even my eye balls were massaged… There were some new scents wandering up my nostrils and I can only guess he held scented oils nearby as by that time my eyes were shut and my whole body completely limp. Sebastian physically moved me, turned me around, arranged in whatever way he needed me to be and I felt like I was a baby, totally trusting, being cradled with care and affection. When you open your eyes, somehow, you end up in a sitting position with Sebastian in front of you and you just want to give him a hug and not say anything. The tranquillity, the flexibility, the lightness and the energy (!) you walk out with are so invigorating, I know, I will be going back. To book, call Sebastian on 54012173 or email: thai.seba1@gmail.com. Check out his facebook page: Thai yoga Massage by Seba.

By the time he got to my arms, I felt pins and needles all over my face, blood rushing

Carvings of sen lines in the human body GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

health

HEALTHY EATING Exploring the fad

s fads go, ‘clean eating’ certainly has many positive connotations attached to it. Having taken the rest of the civilized world by storm, wellness gurus and Instagram mealtime photographers have evolved into modern day celebrities. In an effort to delve into the healthy eating movement that prompted the Jamie Oliver Food Revolution Day in May, I have spent the last few weeks exploring Gibraltarians’ eating habits. From embracing raw, vegan alternative lifestyles, to discovering food intolerances that spark a new, more cautious diet, the clean eating trend has certainly struck us, but how difficult is it to maintain a wholesome way of living here? Researching for the article has led me down an extraordinary avenue that I was simply blind to beforehand. Yes, I’d seen the #cleaneating and #fitfam Instagram meal posts and found myself inundated with suggestions to follow healthy blogs and Youtube channels, but I have, for 76

the most part, just dismissed the fad. I’ve always been a big avoider of healthier foods including, most fruit and a host of vegetables, but as I’ve grown into my early twenties and friends have questioned my reasoning for avoiding them, I have made an effort to experiment, even to the extent that I recently tried my fate with nuts, which I was told as a child I was allergic to and should avoid. The subject was proposed by my editor, a staunch vegan raised on meat and dairy who, after performing extensive research a couple of years ago, now says she’d never go back. To me, the idea of clean and raw eating had always posed only one benefit; to lose weight. It was only until I began to delve further into the vast and initially confusing universe of ‘clean eating’ that I realised I could assist my body in a million more ways than just shedding a few pounds. The last recorded statistics documenting dietary habits in Gibraltar fell under the Gibraltar Health Authority’s 2008 Health

& Lifestyle Survey, an in-depth report covering a wide selection of lifestyle choices relating to health. Whilst currently being in the process of updating the figures for 2014/2015, these statistics were my starting point for this feature. Out of a sample of 401, Gibraltarians aged between sixteen and over sixty-five, were asked to judge their weight using their own perception. 49% believed themselves to be the right weight. Alternatively, 36% deemed themselves overweight, 4% underweight and 11% were unsure. The study delved further into weight trends, with participants’ Body Mass Index being calculated to determine their weight in relation to their height. The study determined that 39% of the sample was overweight, 39% were of normal weight, 21% were obese and 1% was underweight. A recent study conducted in England, by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, discovered that the proportion of obese adults rose significantly from 13% in 1993 to 26% in 2013. 5% higher than Gibraltar. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

health Educating the masses The study went on to explore Gibraltarians’ fruit and vegetable consumption, as well as bread, fish and meat, and those that have made the effort to change their eating habits, with 50% of the 25-44 age group claiming to have made changes since 2007. 46% of those aged 16 – 24, 39% of those aged 45-64 and 15% of those aged 65 and over also made the claim. Traditionally, Gibraltar embraces a Mediterranean diet dominated by olives, olive oil and fish. Self-professed wellness coach Elana, who is bringing a wealth of nutritional wisdom to Gibraltar through a series of seminars, explains to me over water and lemon, that the Spanish race’s fall from grace is the use of pig fat in many of their dishes. Elana, of Raw Food Dynamics, is a raw vegan. Having always been a healthy vegetarian, she took the step into raw veganism to curb the IBS issues that used to keep her up at night. Discussing the health food trend, Elana, who mans a small farm in Casares, insists that ‘there is quite a lot of interest here in Gib, but amongst a minority. We’re talking about very few people.’ ‘I found myself armed with such a good way of life that I decided I should share it with people. I eat raw food because when you overcook, or cook food too much, you spoil it, it’s no longer healthy, and you’re not getting the vitamins, minerals or enzymes. The enzymes in your food, when you cook it, are destroyed and your body has to take the enzymes from you, so it’s a lot more work for digestion and that was the problem with me.’ ‘I’m not a nutritionist, I don’t claim to be, but I love my life so I’m just here to help other people do it. I’ve always been into it,’ she tells me. Her aim is to bring her self-professed knowledge of boosting nutritional lifestyles and tweaking eating

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

habits for the better. Her diet consists mostly of dehydrated fruits and legumes (nuts, seeds and grains). Elana explains to me that many of our favourite foods are overly acidic, making them tough on digestion, she talks of ‘food combining,’ the process of ‘combining your foods cleverly’ to help you properly absorb what you’re eating. ‘If you’re going to eat fish,’ Elana adds, ‘have it with a big salad and some vegetables. If you’re going to eat rice, have it with a big salad and some vegetables. When you eat fish, the proteins need acid to digest and carbohydrates need alkaline. The one cancels out the other.’ Food combining was a concept coined by Herbert Shelton, an American alternative medicine advocate who studied at the American School of Chiropractics, and graduated from the American School of Naturopathy with a Doctor of Naturopathy (ND). He published a book on the principle called ‘Food Combining Made Easy’, in 1951. Whilst the concept of ‘healthy eating’ is often debated, with hundreds of thousands of different diets and habits being pushed down our throats by tabloids and unwelcome internet pop ups, the core underlying foundation of maintaining a healthy diet generally remains the same, except for perhaps the big debate on whether eating meat is healthy or not. Sticking to the basic values, the ‘Health Food Promotion’ facet of the Gibraltar Health Authority endeavours to inform the public of health and lifestyle issues that affect them. A big part of the campaign is dedicated to eating habits and diet. Daya Dewfall, the department’s sole Health Promotion Officer tells me that much of their information is sourced from the UK, who work in conjunction with the World Health Organisation. They organise frequent awareness days covering ‘No Smoking Day’ and a host of physical and

mental health issues. Daya works frequently with different agencies and charities around Gibraltar to develop awareness campaigns. Earlier this year, the department helped launch the ‘Change 4 Life’ campaign, urging parents to help improve their children’s diets and level of physical activity. The main concept of the campaign was that people are more likely to alter their behaviour, if they believe others are doing the same. Through this, the GHA pushed informative booklets and leaflets through schools, educating the children on healthy eating and hoping they would go home and relay the information to their parents. Interestingly, during the launch, GHA Dietician Melanie McLeod called upon the Department of Education to close down school tuck shops. The concept of sweets, chocolate, crisps and fizzy drinks being so readily available in schools is one that is alien to many that have grown up elsewhere in Europe. Looking back at former Gibraltarian generations, Daya insists that people are much more aware of the benefits of eating healthier these days, and are consuming more fruits and vegetables. Reverting back to the Health & Lifestyle Study of 2008, results show that less than a quarter of respondents ate the advised five or more portions of fruit and vegetables each day. On average, the sample ate just 3.25 portions every day. The survey further discovered that young people are the most likely to eat unhealthy food types at an excessive level. Notably, those aged under forty-five are significantly more likely to have changed their diet in the last year than the older respondents. 50% of the respondents aged 24-44 made changes to their eating habits within 2007 and 2008. 38% of those aged 45-64 and 15% of those aged 65 and over also claim to have made shifts to their dietary habits. 77

health

A plant based diet Raw food and plant based diets have yet to take on a prominent role in Gibraltar’s eating lifestyle. The concept cuts out all animal products from one’s diet. From meat, to fish, and all dairy by-products (milk, eggs). Most recently, veganism has shot to fame as the preferred diet for many leading athletes. Champion British Boxer, David Haye made the transformation in 2014 after watching a documentary. His initial fear, along with many others that take on the lifestyle, was consuming his necessary daily protein requirements without eating meat. ‘I did some research to make sure I could still obtain enough protein to fight and, once satisfied that I could, I stopped. I’ll never go back,’ he claimed in his official statement. A study conducted by Hebbelinck et al. in 1999, comparing the ability and recovery time of meat eating adolescents to vegetarian adolescents, discovered that the recovery time following cardio exercise, was quicker for the vegetarian children. 100-year-old California born former Heart Surgeon, Ellsworth Wareham puts down his incredible health and old age to his healthy plantbased diet. In a CNN report carried out in April of this year, he said he can still do everything as well as he could in his twenties, from driving, to memorizing things and mowing his lawn. He didn’t retire until the impressive age of 95. 78

As proved by Mr. Wareham, the health benefits of maintaining a plant-based diet far outweigh any apprehensions about not wishing to give up delicious meat. Many argue that cow’s milk is not meant to be consumed by humans, as we cannot properly digest the proteins and fats. Plant-based diets are known to prevent an incredible host of diseases, including cardiovascular disease, colon, breast and prostate cancer. A scientific report entitled ‘The Chronic Disease Food Remedy’ by Toni Tarver says, ‘Cultures that have resisted the lure of unhealthy dietary habits, however, rarely experience the symptoms of noncommunicable diseases. Such societies eat diets rich in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains and have low or no incidence

of disease and disability. Indubitably, the most nutritious foods on the planet are plant foods, and research studies have long indicated an inverse relationship between a high consumption of plant foods and chronic diseases.’ The report details how the abundance of nutrients, vitamins, enzymes, antioxidants and other bioactive compounds ‘interact with cells, enzymes, hormones, and DNA, playing a role in controlling gene expression and cell changes that lead to chronic disease.’ The concept became more widely known with the help of American produced feature film, ‘Forks over Knives’. There is also a belief that humans just don’t possess the physiological capacity to be omnivores, having a small mouth opening and rudimentary, blunt canines and flattened molars. Our intestine length is nine times our body length, the same as monkeys and apes, who only eat fruits and vegetables. Editor of vegaprocity.com and writer of science, health, business, technology, and entertainment pieces, Brad Johnson breaks down the physiological differences between humans, herbivores, omnivores and carnivores. Almost all of the elements used in digestion match those of our fellow herbivores, from the size of our teeth, to the movement of our jaw, to the PH level of our stomachs and actions GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

health our liver and kidneys perform. Carnivores and omnivores are said to have shorter intestines, large mouth openings, sharp teeth, no digestive enzymes in their saliva, and a very acidic stomach PH. Their shorter digestive period ‘allows meat that is rapidly decaying to pass out of the body as swiftly as possible’. A month into my personal vegan experience, I have found any former digestive issues have mostly disappeared, particularly the bloating. It is widely known that meat takes a few days to digest, putting strain on the digestive process. I don’t particularly miss meat, I’ve found I’m wholly satisfied eating a carb heavy meal made of potatoes or pasta or hummus, beans, legumes or meat alternatives like soy mince and vegetarian bean burgers. I have found myself to be hungrier more often, but I’ve managed to curb the bother by snacking on fruit bars and flapjacks. I am adamant that I will never consume cow’s milk again, soy and rice milk and ice cream alternatives taste much creamier and don’t leave a lingering feeling of nausea in my stomach. The most difficult element of the diet change is avoiding foods with egg or milk traces or proteins and eating out. Whilst Gibraltar is slightly more accommodating to the vegan eater (cheese-less romana pizzas at Pizza Express with extra roast vegetables is a personal favourite) than Spain, there is still a very limited reach, with most establishments not having any vegan specific options available on the menu. However, some eateries will provide a vegan meal if you call ahead to request it. The logic behind the plant-based/dairy-free diet is one I really cannot fault. We are taught from young to eat more fruit and vegetables.

A small minority of vegans can be found on the Rock. Whilst they are not the easiest of groups to contact, I did come across another recently turned vegan, Duane Licudi. Having been an ‘on and off’ vegetarian in the past ‘for reasons to do with animal welfare’ he made the gradual transition after coming across a video displaying a pig scream in fear, before being slaughtered. ‘I did not realise dairy products where just as bad,’ he laments, ‘from then on, I

Calentita: chickpea flour, water & salt GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

1957 905g

1978 1,808g

2005 4,202g

Average weight of chicken breeds at 56 days old

was eating less and less meat choosing alternatives when I could. Not long after, a friend sent me a video of Gary Yourofsky giving a speech on animal welfare and that was the point I decided without doubt that I would go vegan. He admits that veganism is less common in Gibraltar, than perhaps the UK or the USA. He also shares my disappointment with the lack of vegan options available at local food establishments. We discuss traditional Gibraltarian dishes, and whether there is a vegan, healthier approach to them. ‘Dishes like ‘lentejas’ and ‘potaje de cole’ (hearty winter stews made with lentils and beans), although can have morcilla or chorizo, I have tended to have them without. Another dish I had as a child, that happens to be vegan, is garlic cauliflower stir-fry and of course calentita.’ I question him on the health benefits of his diet change and he tells me that that he no longer finds himself snacking. ‘Also, cholesterol is only found in animal products so a vegan diet (for the most part) is cholesterol free.’ That is, if you eat a balanced plantbased diet and do not find yourself snacking often on fried foods and those with high oil contents. One trap I have fallen into is eating at a restaurant, to find they have no vegan options available, and so just ordering chips. Duane is witnessing a gradual weight loss and feeling significantly less sluggish.

groups to see if it was an intolerance. We started off with dairy, but after cutting out dairy for a month there was no difference, I was still ill and underweight. When we cut out gluten it just fixed everything almost instantly,’ she tells me. Her blog features homemade, healthy alternatives to staple Gibraltarian dishes, using healthy, natural, gluten-free ingredients also making use of gluten-free alternatives. Gluten-free eating has been significantly on the rise recently, with brands developing more gluten-free products and supermarkets rapidly growing their gluten-free isles. Severe gluten intolerance, called coeliac disease, irritates the digestive system when the protein composite (which is found in wheat and other grains) is eaten. Gluten is mistakenly blamed for many digestion complaints and is often one of the first things you will be suggested to cut out, to see whether your stomach issues dissipate. The truth is, however, that gluten intolerances are not as common as people might think. Nutrition and public policy expert and author of ‘Food Politics’, Marion Nestle claims that although it is difficult to track trends, surveys suggest that approximately one in 133 people suffer from gluten intolerance.

Gluten-free blogging Moving away from veganism, and into the realms of another recent dietary movement, gluten-free cooking, local food blogger, Ashleigh Vella, whose blog ‘Ashleigh’s Fit Kitchen’ has seen international success, and is becoming recognised locally more and more. Also bringing a host of wisdom to the Rock, Ashleigh also suffered with digestion issues, including severe IBS, and made the step towards healthier and gluten-free eating whilst she was studying at University. ‘I got referred to a nutritionist and we started cutting out different food 79

health

Ashleigh’s most popular recipe is her ‘banoffee pie’, which ditches the usual buttery biscuit base, caramel and fresh cream in favour of naturally sweet medjool dates, ground almonds, and Greek yoghurt. I question her about the state of healthy eating in Gibraltar, and her opinion on the growing movement; ‘being healthy can never be a bad thing. I think people need to get a bit more clued up on what is healthy and what isn’t. It’s not just looking at low fat or light versions of things because they’re not necessarily healthier, but focusing on the actual nutrients within their food. Forget about the calories! It should be about what’s actually going to nourish [their] body.’

Detox is a word that really annoys me, your liver detoxes your body, no special tea or drink is going to change that, it’s going to happen anyway.’ Ashleigh’s knowledge has been built through closely following ‘Men’s Health’ magazine and other, well known healthy blogs like ‘Deliciously Ella’ which boasts international fame, having resulted in a hugely successful meat, gluten, dairy and sugar free, all healthy recipe book, released early this year. Ashleigh joins the other healthy eaters in claiming that Gibraltar needs to catch up with the rest of the world with its eating habits: ‘we are a bit behind, maybe it’s a bit more old fashioned. The younger generation are probably more interested.’

We move on to dieting key words, and the media’s favourite term ‘detox’; ‘I think people have to look further into it, but if they don’t know what they’re looking for, they’re not going to be able to do that.

Reflecting on the state of the restaurant industry in Gibraltar, and their ability to meet the needs of the healthy eaters, Ashleigh comments on Irish Town eatery ‘Corks’, whose weekly specials include ‘fitness options’. ‘I went a couple weeks ago and had a Moroccan spiced tuna steak with quinoa, sweet chili and lots of veg, like broccoli and spinach. It was really good because it was so much more substantial than a salad!’ I’d heard Corks mentioned before, by the experts at ‘Rock Fitness’, a nutritional entity that offers a charity health scheme for those from all different walks of life suffering with ailments that can be aided through exercise and the right nutrition. Implementing superfoods On my continued quest for healthy alternatives, I take Elana’s advice and wander into The Health Store, located on City Mill Lane. Speaking to Raffaella Baccioli, who took over the second store a few years ago, she tells me be about introducing all of the healthy foods and ‘raw foods to

be able to cook healthily’. She notes that there is a lot of interest in healthy eating, in Gibraltar, with a steady flow of regular clients coming through the Health Store regularly. A qualified nutritionist, having studied online after finding out she was gluten intolerant, Raffaella lives by an 80% raw diet, combined with occasional meals of organic meat. Speaking with a warm and friendly dialect, she explains that the shop’s focus is mainly on healthy foods and vitamin and mineral supplements. ‘People come in looking for healthy food because there is a lack in Gibraltar, it’s not easy to find some specific products, so I look for them because I live by this. We’ve got all the raw food; nuts and seeds and a wide selection of superfoods like algae, spirulina, and chlorella. These are really common ingredients for a healthy person. We try to give ideas on how to use them and how to substitute junk food. Living healthy is not living on a diet, you can still enjoy lots of good food, but in a different way that is nutritious for you.’ Explaining superfoods, Raffaella notes that they work in the body in many different ways. ‘The most well known one is coconut, which has many benefits on the body. They contain so many nutrients.’ Others include the algae ‘spirulina’, which is rich in vitamin B12 and has the ability to support detoxification, which naturally occurs through the liver. Raw cacao, the main ingredient of dark chocolate, is also considered a super food, containing twenty more times the antioxidant content that blueberries. The shop also stocks an impressive variety of herbal infusion teas and other supplements, even dabbling in weight loss and gym supplements. ‘I’m an advocate for food,’ Raffaella tells me, ‘supplements are useful for specific needs, but if you have a very healthy diet, you don’t really need any supplements. I don’t consider the superfoods supplements, the powder is something that you use in your cooking so it’s not something that you have to take. Supplements are like medicine, you take them when you need them. They are helpful to treat problems but you need to know how to take them because although they are natural, they are still a medicine.’ Raffaella is incredibly keen to spread the word of healthy living. She insists that her role is not as a salesperson, but to inform people on how to eat better. Occasionally, she claims, she sends people off to the grocer to buy vegetables, to start eating better. ‘There’s a lack of nutritional information, what we know is normally what is passed down through the media, there are lots of theories.’ The most common issues clients come to Raffaella with are digestion or stress GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

health related. Firstly, I ask them what the trigger is and what their diet is. Depending on the cases, there are different solutions. Mainly, I suggest to them to look at their diet and what they’re eating to see if they can find the trigger and eliminate certain foods that are inflammatory like gluten, dairy and sugar. If they need more help there are supplements that can make the difference.’ She adds that chronic pains like arthritis are also common complaints. ‘There’s nothing that is good for everyone, you need to be able to listen to the person to advise them.’ Her advice for stomach issues is modifying your diet, keeping a food diary to track what you eat and eliminate certain foods that could be the cause of the issue. The store’s products are sourced mainly from the UK and US. Raffaella notes that she is always on the hunt for new products, keeping up to date through organic and natural food trade fairs around the world. She explains to me that the most popular products amongst Gibraltarians are chia seeds, derived from the chia plant. They are extremely rich in omega 3 fatty acids and evidence suggests that they lower blood pressure and help you feel fuller for longer. Superfood powders are also extremely popular, as are kale chips (a great crisp alternative, and another

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

superfood) and apple cider vinegar which poses incredible health benefits including aiding digestion and ridding the body of infection and sinus issues. Coconut oil and other coconut products have also shot to fame, proving a healthier and lower calorie alternative to other commonly used cooking oils. Fad or evolution? My journey through healthy eating brings me here; a month old vegan, who is happy to finally feel well and dedicated to consuming foods that are better for my body. The consensus is clearly that an understanding of healthy foods and maintaining a healthy diet is on the rise. Whatever we put it down to, individuals like Elana, Ashleigh and Rafaella, are all responsible for educating the masses on how to lead a healthier lifestyle through their diet. This article barely scratched the surface, but I can only hope that it will help those of you, who like me, formally had no interest in or understanding of the concept ‘you are what you eat’, to stop and take a moment to think about how the food you consume affects you on a day-to-day basis. To help anyone in their endeavour to eat more healthily, you can find two sensational, and all vegan recipes also in this issue. Sourcing healthy food is becoming substantially

easier, as both Eroski and Morrisons are consistently expanding their specialty isles and offering more and more fresh produce. Whether it is a fad that will eventually die out, allowing Instagram photos of fast foods to flood the net, and the increasingly popular quinoa (a wheat free grain) to be forced into the back shelves of the ‘World Food’ isle in your local supermarket, or whether the healthy streak will continue to flourish, we have yet to see. Personally, I’m thoroughly enjoying being part of the dietary evolution. I’d be interested in knowing your thoughts on the matter, email us at info@thegibraltarmagazine.com To read more on any of the dietary schemes mentioned, check out: www.adaptt.org and www.vegankit.com for more of an insight into veganism www.soilandhealth.org to better understand Herbert Shelton’s ‘Food Combining’ philosophy www.medicalnewstoday.com to delve further into plant based diets and how they prevent disease www.ashleighsfitkitchen.com for Ashleigh’s healthy, gluten-free recipe alternatives www.thehealthstoreeurope.com to browse the Health Store’s range of products

food

ICE CREAM CHEESECAKE Raw, vegan, gluten-free, dense, rich and delicious

INGREDIENTS

PREPARATION

First Layer

First of all, make sure to soak the cashew nuts and the chia seeds (for the second layer) and the dates (for the first layer).

¾ cup dates (stone-free), soaked for a few minutes in hot water to soften 1 cup mixed nuts (hazelnuts, almonds and brazil nuts) 2 tbsp soy or almond milk Second Layer 1 cup cashew nuts, soaked in water for minimum two hours 1 tbsp chia seeds, soaked in 3 tbsp almond or soy milk (it will gel-ify) 1 cup coconut oil ½ cup agave juice and pulp from one lime 1 perfectly ripe medium sized avocado ½ cup shredded coconut, more to garnish. 2 – 3 cups fresh strawberries, sliced thinly 82

Then, make the first layer; place the mixed nuts in the blender and run until you have grainy nut flour. Add the soaked dates (not the soaking water), and soy/almond milk and blend for another few minutes. You might need to stop the blender once or twice and scrape down the sides. When you have a fully blended, sticky dough, remove it and press it out in a spring form pan (or whatever cake tin). Place in the freezer while making the second layer. Melt the coconut oil on low heat in a pot and remove the soaking water from the cashew nuts. Place both in a blender together with the chia gel, the agave, the lime juice/pulp and the avocado. Blend on full speed for a few minutes until you have a completely smooth cream. Then remove

from the blender, and add the shredded coconut. Give it a good stir before pouring it into the cake tin to cover the first layer. Spread it out as evenly as possible before putting it back in the freezer for at least a couple of hours. Before serving, garnish with lots of fresh strawberry slices and a little shredded coconut. The lime, nuts and avocado blend so well with the sweetness of the agave, the dates and the coconut... When you top it off with fresh strawberries, you get real food love and a perfect dessert, afternoon treat or even birthday cake! Recipe by Ida Hemmingsson-Holl, the creator of the food blog www.planetplantbased.com. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

food

BOWL OF MULTIVITAMINS Vegan, gluten-free, nutricious and very filling INGREDIENTS

DRESSING

1/2 avocado

1 tbsp white vinegar

1 large or 2 small tomatoes

2 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 cucumber

3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 red onion

oregano, salt and black pepper to taste

1/2 red pepper 1/2 yellow pepper 10 olives 10 dates 80g peanuts a few mixed leaves 3 falafels mustard dressing

Dressing:

1 can chickpeas

Combine vinegar and oregano leaves in a bowl, bruising leaves gently with a whisk to infuse the vinegar a bit. Leave for a few minutes. Add dijon mustard, a pinch of salt and black pepper, and whisk gently to combine. In a thin, slow, constant stream, pour the olive oil into the vinegar mixture while whisking constantly. Season with more salt and pepper if needed.

1/2 onion

Falafels (about 10):

FALAFEL

6 tbsp parsley 2-3 cloves garlic 1 tsp cumin 2 tsp coriander olive oil, salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 2000C. Mix everything in a food processor until itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finely combined but not pureed. Add olive oil if needed. Form falafels out of the mixture and place on an oiled baking tray. Bake for 10 mins, turn over, and bake for another 15 mins. Salad: Chop all ingredients and place on a few leaves of mixed lettuce. Gently add torn falafels and pour dressing all over. Enjoy!

*Whenver available, I prefer to swap peppers for carrots and beetroot. Beets are full of goodness containing vitamins C and B6, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, manganese, folate, dietary fiber... The list just goes on!

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

wine words | Andrew Licudi

ROOM TEMPERATURE Ice bucket or hot oven before serving wine?

eptember is a month I look forward to. Not only should cooler weather be on its way but I can also start thinking about opening some of my favourite reds which I feel taste better once the thermometer starts to dip below the mid twenties and even better when eventually warm winter clothing comes out of storage. Generations of wine drinkers have accepted, for sound reasons, that red wine should be served at room temperature, meaning around 160C which, presumably, was room temperature in pre-central heating days in northern Europe. So today, using the term room temperature is neither helpful here in these latitudes, nor in the centrally heated environments of northerly ones. At times, I have had to ask for a bottle of red to be put into an ice bucket, a request which has been met with a look that suggests pity at my wine ignorance. The opposite can happen as well and I remember having this discussion with the sommelier of a two michelin star restaurant when we met on a freezing Edinburgh

morning to taste numerous heavy reds. She told me that once, having served a rather expensive Cheval Blanc 1986, from their carefully temperature regulated cellar, the customer rejected it on the basis that it was too cold and not “a chambre” as a red wine should be. The wine was changed without argument though how they managed to get a warmer bottle of Cheval Blanc she did not say and one can only imagine that the new bottle was placed in a hot oven for a few minutes. (Cheval Blanc is a right bank Bordeaux blend, primarily of Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Their 1947 vintage is acknowledged to be the best wine ever produced anywhere and is consequently the most forged. It is considered that there is more Cheval Blanc on the market today than was ever produced in the first place! Expect to pay several thousand for a bottle of the 1947. It’s readily available everywhere!)

Restaurant wine lists can range from the voluminous to the barely half a dozen wines without even a vintage indication. For me at least, wine lists the size of bibles can be confusing and even mildly irritating. After all, going out to a restaurant implies that all the work is being done by someone else and in the ideal restaurant, the wine list will have been the subject of extensive research and tasting with dozens of samples being rejected, eventually, after an exhaustive trial and error process, ending up with a relatively short list of wines representing the the best available in its type and price. The reality tends to be different and I suspect that many wine lists are cobbled together based on wines which can be continually supplied by the wine merchant, obviating the need for the restaurant to reprint wine lists on a regular basis. Many restaurants don’t even bother to list the vintage thereby seamlessly moving to the next available year once the current vintage is exhausted, all without having to change the wine list! GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

wine

One thing we are spared off in Gibraltar is buying “On Primeur”. This is the French and UK annual ritual when buyers like you or I pay for wines whilst they are still in barrels after the wines have been tasted and rated by the wine trade. There are two reasons for buying wine in this manner, either because buyers think the wines will go up in price following bottling and release, or because demand for the wines exceed supply and the wines will not be available once released. The process of buying on primeur is very simple and is only a matter of placing your order online with a reputable merchant who will inform you months later when the wines are ready for delivery to your door. I have never been a great fan of OP as not only does one need to tie up money for a year or two but also, some wines fall in price once released on the market. I do make one exception and I share an annual allocation of wines with a wine friend from winemaker Pierre Yves Colin - Morey, a white wine producer in Burgundy who is a true magician and turns out minute quantities of unbelievable white wines of great purity. His wines, once released, tend to disappear into private cellars never to be seen or heard of again. In total, my share of the 2013 vintage, just delivered, is 17 bottles and our allocation includes one bottle each

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

of Colin’ s Bienvenue Batard Montrachet. I haven’t looked at the final bill but I know it will be wallet busting! On the matter of hard-to-come-by wines, I have always found our wine merchants in Gibraltar extremely helpful and approach-

able. We all read about wines that are not available here but on occasion, when I have requested some wine or other, they have done everything possible to try and find the wines for me. Remember, of course, that they are running a business and minimum quantities may apply.

Wines to try at least once in your life Cesar Florido Pena del Aguila Palo Cortado (Reserva de la familia) Chipiona, Cadiz A year or two back, when I was researching Palo Cortado sherries, the Consejo Regulador in Jerez kindly let me taste more than a dozen examples of these controversial wines. At the above tasting, there was one wine which left me quite speechless and it was Cesar Florido’s Pena del Aguila Palo Cortado. After the tasting, I went straight to Chipiona where Cesar himself informed that he didn’t have any PC to hand as he only bottled to order from his only client, an American wine merchant! I have since managed to get hold of two half bottles. The wine is unbelievably complex with flavours of sea salt, caramel, vanilla, very dry with a massive complex finish. Since my visit to Chipiona, the wine has beaten all comers in a blind tasting of top sherries organised by a specialist magazine. Available sometimes, at the bodega in Chipiona from Cesar himself. Only minute quantities available so expect to pay £30 for a half bottle. Their Oloroso is also extremely good and is only £3.50 a bottle at their small shop attached to the bodega!

appetite

e to wher drink eat &e Rock on th

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 chorizo, black pudding,

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

Get Listed! Do you own a restaurant, café, or bar in Gibraltar? To get your business listed here

call 200 77748 or email info@thegibraltarmagazine.com GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

food & drink

directory Get Listed! Do you own a restaurant, café, or bar in Gibraltar? To get your business listed here

call 200 77748 or email info@thegibraltarmagazine.com Get Stuffed Very popular take -away, 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 Bright and airy, recently redecorated cafe on the first floor of the ICC. All home-made food including daily specials, vegetarian options, desserts and small cakes. Eat in or take-away. Try their daily roast with everything on, or their all-day breakfast. Pensioner’s lunch - 2 course meal for £5.25. Friendly, cheerful and fully licensed. Open: from 7.30am Monday to Friday Just 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 SEPTEMBER 2015

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

e to wher drink eat &e Rock on th

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 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

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.

Oasis Eatery Govenor’s Parade Tel: 200 65544 www.oasiseatery.com

Solo Express Grnd Flr, ICC, Casemates & Eurotowers

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

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 salads to eat in or take away. Try the light homemade pizzas, or the falafels and humous. Daily special soups are fabulous and filling. Ask for Idan's hot homemade chilli relish — sweet and scrummy. Open: Mon/Thurs: 7.30-6, Fri 7.30-5, Sun 10-3. Verdi Verdi ICC, Casemates Tel: 200 60733

food & drink

directory All’s Well

Gibraltar Arms

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.

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.

All’s Well Casemates Square. Tel: 200 72987

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

Bridge Bar & Grill

e to wher drink eat &e Rock on th

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

Jury’s Café-Wine Bar

Star Bar

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.

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.

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.

Bridge Bar & Grill Ocean Village Tel: 200 66446

Jury’s Café & Wine Bar 275 Main Street. Tel: 200 67898

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

Cannon Bar

Lord Nelson

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.

Bar/brasserie in Casemates. Done out like Nelson’s ship. Starters & snacks include f re s h m u s s e l s, 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.

Cannon Bar 27 Cannon Lane. Tel: 200 77288

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

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

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

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

RESTAURANT BAR GUIDE &

take-away or reserve a table

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

Queensway Quay (next to Waterfront)

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

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

Queensway Quay Marina, Tel: 200 61118

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 GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

Indian Cuisine to Eat In or Take Away

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

leisure

home

shopping

pets DON’T SHOP - ADOPT!

CRAFT CLASSES - PHONE FOR INFO

Do something special call 5401 3723

Quality Kitchen Ware Gibraltar’s Best Stocked Cook Shop 46 Irish Town Tel: 200 75188 Fax: 200 72653

Registered Charity No. 127

GACHE & CO LTD EST. 1830

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

lessons & tuition

Learn Guitar Classical Guitar Tuition ● B.Mus and PGDip in Classical Guitar Performance

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

Gibraltar Taxi Association

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

hair & beauty

That Nail Place

GUIDED ROCK TOURS

Nail Extensions

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

Gel - Acrylic - Fibreglass

Airbrushing Nail Art Body Jewellery

Unit F22A 1st Floor, ICC. Tel: 200 73211

● Beginners or advanced including ABRSM graded exams ● Half hour lessons £15 or £20 for one hour

Health & Beauty Salon

● Lessons from 5.30pm at OriginArta, 29 Governor’s Street

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

For info or to book a lesson Tel: Adam 58181000

Don House Arcade Tel: 20077311

FROST LANGUAGE CENTRE (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 7 days a week 5pm-9pm

Need somebody to talk to? 90

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE AUGUST 2015

CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC in the ICC building, now offers latest, state-of-the-art technology

LASER LIPO

Bell Pharmacy

that will help you lose inches & TONE UP!

Your Family Chemists

Laser Lipo has shown to be much more effective than many other resculpting programs and is guaranteed to achieve results fast. Combined with a healthy eating and exercise program, it kick starts weight loss so you can achieve the shape you desire, shift fat from stubborn areas and see a difference from the very first session. It was recently featured in OK! Magazine and is now the favoured treatment for many celebrities, including Lizzie Cundy and Amy Childs. It is non-invasive, gentle and painless.

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

PASSANO OPTICIANS LTD British Registered Optometrists

6 Pitmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Alley Tel: 200 76544 Email: passano@sapphirenet.gi

Special Offer!

1 HOUR Laser Lipo Session for just ÂŁ49

Offer valid until 25th September 2015 The Chiropractic Health Clinic, 1st Floor ICC, tel: 200 44610

Beauty Therapy

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

STEINER CHIROPRACTIC CLINICS 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. College Clinic, Regal Hse. Tel: 200 77777

Primary Care Centre 2nd Floor International Commercial Centre Casemates

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

Laser Clinic Permanent Hair removal Pigmentation and anti-aging Visiting Surgeon Cosmetic Surgeon Breast implants and augmentation, face-lifts, tummy tucks

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE AUGUST 2015

Business services Did you know, we have a Gibraltar messenger service too? We collect, deliver... and wait and return if required.

Save yourself time and money, call us

186 Main Street, PO Box 453, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 61053 Fax: + 350 200 60953 www.corinthian.gi

T: +350 200 68450 E: info@ramparts.eu www.ramparts.eu

33 Main Street Gibraltar

Tel: +350 200 76173 E-mail: gib@SovereignGroup.com

Computer / network giving you a headache? Call us for a swift, reliable cure. 17 Convent Place Tel: 200 4-999-1 Fax: 200 4-999-2 www.pc-clinic-gib.com Email: info@pc-clinic-gib.com • Support Contracts • Network Installation & Troubleshooting • Web Design • PC Repairs, Upgrades & Construction • PC Maintenance

Spring | Law Specialising in Wills, Estate Planning, Property Transactions, Employment Law and Company/Commercial Legal Advice Please contact: Chris Keightley-Pugh LLB TEP Tel: 200 64001 Email: chris.keightleypugh@springlaw.co.uk

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

Rock Pools

ENJOY YOUR POOL Leave the rest to us!

With over 600 offices and associates globally, we are perfectly placed to find you the perfect buyer.

Sammy Armstrong Savills Gibraltar Suite 1B, 1/5 Icom House, Irish Town GX11 1AA sarmstrong@savills.gi + 350 200 66633

James Attwood B.Sc. (Hort) ILAM qualified Swimming Pool and Spa Technician

Web: www.rockpoolsgib.com Tel: +350 54018134 Email: info@rockpoolsgib.com Rock Pools.indd 1

Savills. Flying the flag for our clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; properties all over the world.

savills.gi

03/06/2015 10:34

Property, Building & Marine Services

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

Clubs & Activities Arts & Crafts Cross Stitch Club: John Mackintosh Hall, 1st Floor, Mon 6-8pm, fee £1. Gibraltar Arts & Crafts Association: Children - Mon-Thur, 3:45 p.m. - 7 p.m., Sat, 10am - 12pm. Adults: 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 Thursday, Juniors: 5p.m. - 7 p.m. / Tuesday & Thursday 7p.m. - 10:30 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 Centre: Hiphop/Break Dance,Contemporary Dance, Pilates, Capoeira, Acrobatics, Street Kids & Tods, Modern Dance. Performance and Film opportunities. Judo & Jujitsu Classes: Tue/ Thur with Sensei Conroy. All ages. Budokai Martial Arts Centre, Wellington Front. www. artinmovement.net FB: Art In Movement A.I.M, tel 54025041 or 54007457 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. Bellydance Classes, all levels, Tue 8-9pm at the Ocean Village Gym (non–members welcome). Contact 54005593. 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 thecalpeband@gmail.com Jazz Nights: Thurs at 9pm at O’Callaghan Eliott Hotel. Tel: 200 70500. 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 mjpizza@gibtelecom.net, North Moll Road. Email. P.O. Box: 1260. Social Clubs The Rotary Club of Gibraltar meets the Rock Hotel, 7pm Tuesday evenings. Guests welcome. For contact or info www.rotaryclubgibraltar.com Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes: (Gibraltar Province) meets RAOB Club, 72/9 Prince Edward’s Road - Provincial Grand Lodge, Thu/month, 7.30pm. William Tilley 2371, Thurs 8.30pm. Buena Vista 9975, monthtly, Social Lodge. www.akearn1.wix. com/raob-gibraltar, william.tilley.lodge@ hotmail.co.uk, Clive, tel: 58008074 Special Interest Clubs & Societies Creative Writers Group: meets up on Tuesday mornings at 10.30 in O’Reillys Irish Bar and it is free to attend. Tel: Carla 54006696. Gibraltar Book Club: For info Tel: Parissa 54022808. Gibraltar Horticultural Society: meets 1st Thurs of month 6pm, J.M. Hall. Spring Flower Show, slide shows, flower arrangement demos, outings to garden centres, annual Alameda Gardens tour. All welcome. Gibraltar Philosophical Society: devoted to intellectually stimulating debate. Frequent lectures and seminars on a range of topics. Tel: 54008426 or Facebook: facebook.com/gibphilosophy Gibraltar Photographic Society: Meets on Mondays at 7:00 p.m. Wellington Front. Induction courses, talks, discussions, competitions etc. For details contact the secretary on, leslinares@gibtelecom.net 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. 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. www.badmintongibraltar.com 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. 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, Shotokai karate centre, 41H Town Range. Monday: 9:30 p.m. & Wednesday 9:45 p.m. Karate: Shotokan karate midday Mon beginners, other students 8.30pm. Thurs 8.30pm. In town at temporary dojo or privately by arrangement. Contact Frankie 54038127 or 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 from 4 years of age, weekday evenings. Tel: 56000772 or Sally 200 74661. Rugby: Gibraltar Rugby Football Union

training for Colts (w+), seniors and veterans. Play in Andalusia 1st Division. Contact: secretary@gibraltarfu.com 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. Time - Thursday 12:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.. Telephone, Jenssen Ellul - 54027122 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, 12:305pm. 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.

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEBMER 2015

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GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE AUGUST 2015

Information 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.

The flora and fauna on the Upper Rock are consid-

ered 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. 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 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-ibn-Zeyad (“Gibraltar” is a corruption of the Arabic words “Jebel Tarik” - Tarik’s mountain). The part we see today, The Tower of Homage, dates back to 1333AD, when Abu’l Hassan recaptured the Rock from Spain. Natural History & Heritage Park Walks: Med Steps is a stunning walk with the steep climb at the end rewarded with spectacular views of the Rock and Spain. Another recommended walk is St Michael’s Cave through to Charles V Wall but walkers should be relatively fit for both. It is also pleasant walking along the upper rock roads. Brochures available free from all Tourist Board offices. Botanical Gardens: Opened in 1816, the Alameda Botanical Gardens fell into disrepair but are being restored to their former glory. Visitors can enjoy a stroll beneath pines, dragon trees and palms, and see many of Gibraltar’s native plants as well as exotic species. The shop sells environmentally

friendly gifts, plants and seeds. Tel: 200 72639/200 74022. Parking.

Support Groups

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).

ADHD & Learning Difficulties (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity

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 visit contact: F. Gomez Tel. 200 44460, P. Hodkinson Tel. 200 43910. 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 The John Mackintosh Hall 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. Shrine of Our Lady of Europe (Museum within premises) Europa Road. 10am-7pm Monday to Friday, 11am7pm 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 12345 Hospital, St Bernards . . Tel: 200 79700 Weather information . . Tel: 5-3416 Frontier Queue Update.Tel: 200 42777

Disorder) Meetings at Fellowship Bookshop Catholic Community Centre, Line Wall Road. Coffee, chat, books and resources on display. Tel: 54027551 or 54014476. Alcoholics Anonymous meet 7pm Tues & Thurs at Nazareth Hse Tel: 200 73774. A Step Forward support for single, separated, divorced/ widowed people, meet 8pm Mon at St Andrew’s Church. Mummy & Me Breastfeeding Support Group those who are pregnant, breastfeeding or have breastfed to get together for coffee, chat / support. Partners and older children welcome. Meets 1st Wed / month at Chilton Court Community Hall at 1.30pm. Enquiries and support 54014517. Childline Gibraltar confidential phone line for children in need. Freephone 8008 - 7 days a week 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Citizens’ Advice Bureau Open Mon-Thur 9:30am-4:00pm, Fri 9:30am- 3:30pm. (Summer Hours 8:30am – 2:00pm) Tel: 20040006 Email: info@cab.gi or visit us at 10 Governor’s Lane. Free & confidential, impartial & independent advice and info. 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. Families Anonymous Support group for relatives and friends who are concerned about the use of drugs or related behavioural problems. Meet alternate Thursdays at 9pm at Nazareth House. For info Tel: 200 70047 or 200 73465. Gibraltar Cardiac Rehabilitation and Support Group meets on the first Tuesday of every month at 8.30pm at the John Mac Hall, except for July and August. Gibraltar Dyslexia Support Group 72 Prince Edwards Rd Tel: 200 78509 Mobile: 54007924 website: www.gdsg.co.uk Gibraltar Marriage Care. Free relationship counselling,

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.

including pre-marriage education (under auspices of Catholic

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.

Mummy & Me Breastfeeding Support: Meets every Thursday

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.

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. 12:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Narcotics Anonymous Tel: 200 70720 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: Yolanda 54015553

John Mackintosh Hall Tel: 200 75669 Includes cafeteria, theatre, exhibition rooms and library. 308 Main Street 9.30am - 11pm Monday to Friday. Closed weekends.

SSAFA Forces Help Gibraltar, a UK charity, to assist serving

Gibraltar Public Holidays 2015

widowed or single people. Meet Weds 9pm, Catholic

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 BH Monday 31st August Evacuation Memorial Monday 7th September Gibraltar National Day Thursday 10th September Christmas Day Friday 25th December Boxing Day Monday 28th December

and ex-Service personnel and their families. Tel: (5)5481. Email: Susan GIB-CST-JSWPA@mod.uk With Dignity Gibraltar support for separated, divorced/ Community Centre, Line Wall Rd. Outings/activities. Women in Need. Voluntary organisation for all victims of domestic violence. Refuge available. Tel: 200 42581 (24 hrs).

Emergency Services 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 GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEBMER 2015

The Gibraltar Magazine is published and produced by Rock Publishing Ltd, Gibraltar. Tel: (+350) 200 77748

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Coffee Time 1

8 5 4

8 6

1 9

4) Neatly dressed (6) 9) Spread out from the centre (7)

10) Brag (5) 11) White poplar (5)

12) Drifting frozen water (7)

2 8 6

1) Blanket worn on the shoulders by Mexican horsemen (6)

Just for fun 9 7 5

Across

13) Adult in charge of a boys’ social movement (5,6) 18) Piece of clothing (7)

20) Drizzle fat over cooking meat (5) 22) Releases (5)

5 4 2

23) Principal ingredient of porridge (7)

16 18

24) Man in charge (6)

17 19

25) From Paris perhaps (6)

Down

1) Small river (6) 2) Dickensian Barnaby’s surname (5) 25

3) Flat raised area of land (7) 5) Walk slowly (5)

Crossword Competition

Notes

6) Mollify (7)

Closing date: 20th Sept

7) Capture back in chess (6) 8) Passing of a law; body of law generally (11)

First Prize

14) Idle fancy; fire spouting monster of Greek myth (7)

Lunch for 2 at The Clipper

15) Referee; judge (7) 16) Clever like Dickensian Dodger (6)

Last months winner:

17) Riches (6)

Megan Gadd Montrea Court

Flight Day Airline

September 2015 Schedules Flight No From

Arrives

Flight No To

Mon easyJet EZY8901 Gatwick 10:55 EZY8902 Gatwick British Airways BA490 Heathrow 16:10 BA491 Heathrow Monarch ZB068 Luton 19:10 ZB069 Luton Monarch ZB574 Manchester 20:10 ZB575 Manchester easyJet EZY8903 Gatwick 20:35 EZY8904 Gatwick Tue easyJet EZY8901 Gatwick 10:55 EZY8902 Gatwick British Airways BA490 Heathrow 16:10 BA491 Heathrow Monarch ZB068 Luton 19:00 ZB069 Luton Monarch ZB446 Birmingham 19:10 ZB447 Birmingham easyJet EZY6299 Bristol 20:30 EZY6300 Bristol Wed easyJet EZY8901 Gatwick 10:55 EZY902 Gatwick British Airways BA490 Heathrow 16:15 BA491 Heathrow Monarch ZB068 Luton 19:00 ZB069 Luton Monarch ZB574 Manchester 20:10 ZB575 Manchester easyJet EZY8903 Gatwick 20:35 EZY8904 Gatwick Thur easyJet EZY8901 Gatwick 10:55 EZY8902 Gatwick Royal Air Moroc AT990 Tangier 12:55 ATT991 Tangier British Airways BA490 Heathrow 16:15 BA491 Heathrow Monarch ZB446 Birmingham 19:10 ZB447 Birmingham easyjet EZY6299 Bristol 20:30 EZY6300 Bristol Fri easyJet EZY8901 Gatwick 10:55 EZY8902 Gatwick British Airways BA490 Heathrow 16:10 BA491 Heathrow Monarch ZB068 Luton 19:00 ZB069 Luton Monarch ZB574 Manchester 20:10 ZB575 Manchester easyJet EZY8903 Gatwick 20:35 EZY8904 Gatwick Sat easyJet EZY8901 Gatwick 11:40 EZY8902 Gatwick British Airways BA490 Heathrow 16:10 BA491 Heathrow British Airways BA492 Heathrow 17:15 BA493 Heathrow Sun easyJet EZY8901 Gatwick 10:55 EZY8902 Gatwick easyJet EZY6299 Bristol 11:35 EZY6300 Bristol British Airways BA490 Heathrow 16:15 BA491 Heathrow Royal Air Moroc AT990 Tangier 16:35 AT991 Tangier British Airways BA492 Heathrow 17:15 BA493 Heathrow Monarch ZB446 Birmingham 19:00 ZB447 Birmingham Monarch ZB574 Manchester 19:10 ZB575 Manchester easyJet EZY8903 Gatwick 20:20 EZY8904 Gatwick Monarch ZB068 Luton 20:40 ZB069 Luton

19) Follow on from (5)

Departs 11:25 17:00 19:55 20:55 21:05 11:25 17:00 19:55 20:00 21:00 11:25 17:00 19:45 20:55 21:05 11:25 13:45 17:00 20:00 21:00 11:25 17:00 19:45 20:55 21:05 12:10 17:00 18:15 11:15 12:05 17:00 17:25 18:15 19:50 19:55 20:50 21:25

DOA Vessel Wed 02 Thur 03 Thur 03 Thur 03 Fri 04 Sat 05 Sat 05 Mon 07 Wed 09 Thur 10 Sat 12 Sun 13 Mon 14 Mon 14 Mon 14 Wed 16 Wed 16 Fri 18 Sat 19 Sun 20 Tue 22 Tue 22 Tue 22 Thur 24 Fri 25 Sat 26 Mon 28 Tue 29

Celebrity Eclipse Sea Cloud 2 Oriana Island Escape Anthem of the Seas Explorer of the Seas Azamara Quest Costa Favolosa Celebrity Silhouette Ventura Queen Elizabeth Azores Aurora Horizon Star Legend Tere Moana Azura MSC Musica Ryndam MSC Splendida Costa neoRomantica Tere Moana Britannia Empress Prinsendam MSC Orchestra Thomson Dream Queen Elizabeth

Cruise ETA ETD Pass 13:00 08:00 09:00 09:00 11:00 12:00 15:00 12:00 08:00 08:00 08:00 14:00 09:00 14:00 14:00 08:00 09:00 16:00 08:00 15:00 08:00 08:00 09:00 11:00 14:00 10:00 08:00 08:00

18:00 20:00 14:00 18:00 16:30 18:00 22:00 23:59 17:00 13:30 13:00 23:59 14:00 20:00 19:00 18:00 14:30 23:00 18:00 21:00 13:00 21:00 14:00 19:00 23:59 17:00 18:00 13:00

British German British British British International American Italian International British British British British Spanish American American British Italian American Italian Italian American British Spanish American Italian British British

Capacity

2,850 96 1,975 1,512 4,180 3,114 700 3,780 2,850 3,100 2,092 600 1,975 1,400 212 95 3,076 2,550 1,226 3,300 1,697 95 4,372 1,600 758 2,550 1494 2,092

www.gibraltarport.com

www.gibraltarairport.gi GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2015

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