The Gibraltar Magazine November 2005

Lightweight and compact

Automatic airflow director ensures uniform airflow and temperature distribution Air purification filter: - deodorises the air helps prevent bacterial and viral propagation

Powerful mode can be selected for rapid cooling or heating

Washable front panel

Extremely quiet in operation, both indoors and outdoors

The outdoor unit can easily be mounted on a roof or terrace or placed against an outside wall

Up to 5 indoor units can be connected to 1 Multi outdoor unit. All indoor units are individually controllable with remote control and do not need to be installed in the same room. They operate simultane ously within the same cooling or heating mode.

Photo by Derek Booth

Since leaving Gibraltar Cecil Ladislaus has travelled all over the world with the Navy and did a six month exchange with the Spanish Navy.

Lieutenant Cecil Ladislaus,28, is currently the Signals Communica tion Officer on board one of the Royal Navy's Trafalgar class nu clear propelled submarines, HMS Turbulent.

Lieutenant Ladislaus left Bayside School, Gibraltar, in 1995 to go to Nottingham University in the UK. He studied for a degree in Civil En gineering and worked as an engi neer before deciding to change ca reer and join the Royal Navy as a Warfare Officer.

He says:"I was in the Territorial Army for 6 years, two years with the Royal Gibraltar Regiment and four years with the Royal Engi neers." After working as an engi neer 1 needed a change so decided to join the Royal Navy because of the career and opportunities for travel."

Lieutenant Cecil Ladislaus com

missioned from Officer Training at Dartmouth before serving on HMS Exeter and HMS G/oHCf.s/t'r.

He was selected to work onboard submarines after his Junior Warfare Officer's course. When asked about his impression of working on HMS Turbuh'iit, he says:"As a relatively young officer, I was thrown in at the deep end. For example,learning to navigate without windows takes a while to get used to. On the plus side, the ship's company is very professional.The work is very chal lenging and you get a lot of respon sibility."

Lieutenant Ladislaus ha.s man aged to visit family in Gibraltar twice on ship visits to Gibraltar. He says, "It is a definite bonus living somewhere like Gibraltar. It is good to see the world,but I also look for ward to visiting family and friends."

Ueirtettaat Cecil Ladislaus

Jessica. Raju aad £va ofRed Man's Clothing Red Men'sClothingopened ils door in mid-October to groat acclaim from Gibraltar's fash ion concious males. Selling big brand names such as Ted Baker, Ermengildc Zegna,Hugo Boss and Hilditch & Key, the shop is large, bright and modern. Located at the far end of Main Street (near the

Anglican Cathedral, Cathedral Square) the shop sells casual wear on the ground floor with suits, shirtsandtiesonthefirstfloor. You will find the shop at 255 Main Street and it is open Monday to Friday 10am-7pm and Saturdays 10am to 2pm. Tel: "^1075 for further information.

Hummer on the Reck

You may well have spotted this quite spectacular 'car' in Gibraltar last month... the Hummer is being used as a promotional and brand ing tool by 888.com and it will be going to all the major sporting and cultural events in the UK through out the coming year... everything from film premiers to cup finals. The stretch Hummer has a custom made poker table,and internet con nection to 888.com, as well as champagne and soft drinks, DVD, flat screeas, CD player and strobe and disco lights!

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Insurance Sector Expansion

Cuning the Red Tape

Though Gibraltar's insurance sector continues to expand, competition among the almost 50 firms on the Rock is also getting tougher as new players appear and established companies expand their activities in the fight to increase their share of the local market.

Two significant players have re cently started subsidiaries which will concentrate on local services.

Early in October Trafalgar Insurance opened a local office (see page 24) and a few days later Quest Insur ance Management opened to offer Gibraltar residents and others a full range of insurance services.

Its wide product range on the life and general insurance side gave the firm the ability "to truly call our selves a'broker',"says Steve Quinn, the man behind the new company. Quest Insurance Services. L Its serv ices go beyond the general run of the insurance mill and include mort gage arrangement, pension and in vestment planning, and relocation.

Quinn, who moved to Gibraltar in July last year to set up Quest as an insurance management firm, started out with a staff of three (in cluding himself and his wife) and today employs nine more... mainly local Gibraltarians though the firm has also brought in a few expatri ates."The mix adds to the skills base of the local finance sector," he points out.Quest Financial Services has set off with a four-strong staff.

The need for a financial services firm which would handle re-location — among other aspects of the

insurance/finance service sector struck Quinn when he moved to Gibraltar with his wife and children. He met Dawn McHard,who helped smooth some of the familv's teeth ing problems and is now manager of the new Quest company.

"It was clear that as more and more brokers and traders moved to Gibraltar they would need help ad justing — or providing — their life and pensions cover packages," Quinn explains. "Providing other insurance services — for them and for Gibraltar residents generally was a logical extension of this. Some of these clients have come up with unique ideas — which we arc look ing into."

Most of the overseas insurers with a presence in Gibraltar oper ate through insurance managers who not only help clients obtain the necessary licences to operate but then ensure that licensed insurance firms comply with the Financial Service Commission's(FSC)regula tory requirements.And though sev eral insurance management firms were well established when Quinn and Quest arrived he argued then — and still maintains — that there is room for competition.

Before setting up Quest — which

Redtapeisbeingcutand

he saw as"my personal vote of con fidence in the future of Gibraltar and its insurance market" —Quinn was a member of the global insurance team with Lloyds TSB in Britain, dealing particularU' with the Lloyd's market and specialist insur ance companies.

After helping one of these to get established in Gibraltar — "1 was flying back and forth quite a lot be tween the Rock and the UK", he admits — the customer persuaded Quinn to start his own company in insurance management... and be came his first client.

"Even in Gibraltar where the FSC is helpful and accessible in a way that one seldom would find with UK regulatory bodies, setting up a new insurance operation and ar ranging for licensing takes time," Quinn says. "But we had a devel opment plan from the outset and the past 15 months have seen Quest grow — in terms of client numbers and business — according to that plan.

"We wanted Quest to be in the position where it could help the in dustry as a whole to grow... and strengthened by the new company — 1 believe we are well set to do so," he says.

bureaucratic anonymity scrapped in moves initi ated by Trade, Industry and Communications Minister Joe Holliday in an attempt to make his department more ^accessible to and proactive with the private sector.

Faceless bureaucracy is to be replaced by 'desk officers' and senior managers as part of a general restructuring which Holliday hopes will bring "a friendly and familiar face" to the business and commercial community's dealings with the |DTI&C.

If "We have made a string of |5changes and now that the 'summer vacations are over jthese will be implemented," Holliday explains."What we [have tried to do — along with the Invest Gibraltar unit — is to Icreate a'one-stop-shop', [operating in a more userfriendly environment.

As welt as integrating the employment ser\'ice into the commercial aspects of the Department,trade licensing will be streamlined and made more user-friendly and the EU secretariat is being restructured so that in future it will also handle the different funds which we hope local business and commerce will make Igreater use of as their availabiljity becomes better known."•

'Even in Gibraltar where the FSC is helpful and accessible in a way that one seldom would find with UK regulatory bodies,setting up a new Insur ance operation and arranging for licensing takes time"

PrufussiunalIndemnity

Professional Indemnity Insurance protects your business against compensation sought by a client if you have made mistakes or are found to have been negligent. It may also cover any legal costs as part of, or in addition to, the limit of indemnity. If you are a lawyer, accountant, financial adviser, or Corporate/ Trustee Service Provider then you must have Professional Indemnity Insurance.

to carry PII under the rules of their regulator or as a condition of any association memberships.

Ensure you are properly covered

There are several important as pects to bear in mind when consid ering Professional Indemnity Insur ance. Firstly, do you carry the right level of indemnitv? If you are re quired by a regulator to carry PII you will normally be obliged to carry minimum limits, however, your broker should be advising if these minimum levels are suffi cient.

Secondly,Professional Indemnity Insurance policies are written on a claims made basis. It is the policy in force at the time of the com plaint/ claim that may respond,not the policy that was in force at the time that the advice was given. For this reason, it is advisable to take a policy that provides full retroactive cover and not just cover from the inception of your policy. Due to the nature of advice given, particularly within the professional industries, there can often be a long delay be tween an event and a subsequent claim.You need to be covered both at the time of the event and when the claim was made. This would also mean that if you plan to cancel your policy when you close your business or retire you may need to arrange"run off" cover for a period of time afterwards.

The third important considera tion is the level of excess you may carry. Again, in the professions described maximums may be en forced byyourregulator. However, your Broker will be able to advise as to appropriate excess levels de-

N

pending on risk exposure and the potential impact on premiums.them to offer bespoke Professional Indemnity Insurance solutions tea cross section of industries.

Quest Financial Services limited have developed strong relation ships with specialist London based Brokers. This enables Quest to ac cess the world's largest insurance market, Lloyds of London,enabling

InkJet Cartn€lges Professionally Recharged MASSIVE SAVINGS ON THE PRICE OF A NEW CARTRIDGE 4th Generation InkJet recharging machine from the USA 10 GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2005

Whyform a TrustP

The concept of a Trust was first used in Anglo Saxon times and is an arrangement whereby property is transferred from one person or corporation (the Settlor) to another person or corporate body (the Trustee) to hold for the benefit of a specified list or class of persons (the Beneficiaries).

A Trust is not a corporate vehi cle, joint venture or Partnership. It is an equitable arrangement be tween the Settlor and the Trustee represented by a set of instructions. Although a Trust can be created solely by verbal agreement it is nor mal and preferable for a Trust Deed to be executed which evidences its creation,sets out the terms and con ditions and outlines the rights of the Beneficiaries. The similarities of a Trust, under these terms, to a Will are immediately apparent except that assets in Trust are transferred during lifetime and not on death which avoids the need for Probate and Executors and often Inherit ance Tax and Estate Duty-

It is therefore a method of creat ing a type of Will during lifetime and separating assets for tax pur poses or for protection from credi tors. It is a useful vehicle for the purpose of holding shares in a family business and for affording continuity with the added possible advantages of avoiding inheritance taxes and allowing the Settlor to have planned family affairs beyond his death.

Virtually all common law juris dictions, and now many Roman law jurisdictions, recognize and uphold the concept of Trusts and their courts rigidly enforce the terms. What is required in the cho sen jurisdiction is political stability, attractive taxation and a sound le gal system.

A Trust has no legal personality such as a corporate vehicle, partner

ship, or a joint venture. It is an eq uitable arrangement represented by a written set of rules and instruc tions that is legally enforceable. These rules and instructions known as the Settlement, represent the terms under which a Settlor ap points Trustees and into whose care he or she places assets which the Trustee administers for the even tual benefit of the Beneficiaries.

Discretionary Trusts

There are various types of Trust that may be created but, generally speaking, the greatest tax advan

tages and flexibility result from a Discretionary Settlement, which gives the Trustees the discretion of the amount and the timing of dis tributions of income or capital.This can have substantial advantages because it allows the Trustees to accumulate and take account ofany changes in the situation of a given Beneficiary and to plan distribu tions to minimise tax.

Whilst the Trustees have this dis cretion, it is normal for the Settlor to indicate to them his wishes via a formal "Letter(or Memorandum)of Wishes". The Trustees are not le-

gaily bound to follow these wishes but most Trustees would be reluc tant to deal with Trust property in any other way unless there was a very pressing reason to do so. The Memorandum of Wishes may be amended during the lifetime of the Settlor to take account of any changes,such as the birth of a new Beneficiary.

A Trust may be revocable but, if so, it stands to lose many of its tax and asset protection advantages.

Settlor(s)

The Settlor(s) are the person(s) placing the assets into the Trust Set tlement. If so instructed, the first Trustees can declare the Settlement, in which case the Settlor(s) will not be named. The Trustees may be a "family" Company formed espe cially for that purpose and the Tru.st assets will be the net assets of that Company. But in more conven tional circumstances the Trustees would hold the shares in an under lying Company.This serves to dis tance its ownership while giving the structure a continuity, undis turbed by death or disability.

Trustees

Reputable companies in Gibral tar,such as Form-a-Trust(Gibraltar) Limited, have been licensed by the Gibraltar Financial Services Com mission to offer services as profes sional Trustees. By employing the services of a corporate Trustee,the Settlor isafforded the peace of mind of a guaranteed continuity of Trus-

Virtually all common law lurlsdicilons,and now many Roman law Jurisdictions,recognize and uphold the concept oi Trusts

tee services that arc governed by strict regulation,and overseen by a Commission that is charged with ensuring that its licensees adhere to the highest standards of fiduciary services.

Beneficiaries

During their lifetime, the Trus tees will have regard to the wishes of the Settlor(s) and a full list of Beneficiaries with supporting due diligence documentation in respect of each, is a vital component at the inception of the Trust, and at any time during the life of the Trust when any changes arc envisaged.

The Protector or Counsellor

Normally,there would be no dif ficulty in the Settlor also acting in the capacity of Protector or Coun sellor, although certain safeguards for the Settlor may be found by ap pointing a Protector or Counsellor who has his or her confidence. To avoid any possible adverse tax con sequences which may result if the Protector (or indeed the Settlor) wasseen to be controlling the Trus tees,it is advisable to limit the pow ers given to the Protector to those of approval and endorsement of defined actions of the Trustees without which the Trustees would feel precluded from taking such action.

Advantages of a Discretionary Trust

Assets transferred into Trust no longer form part of the estate of the Settlor so that:

1. The Settlor would not generally be taxable on the income and/or capital gains generated by those assets.

2. On death probate and,generally,

Inheritance Tax would be avoided. The Trust provides a speedy,confidential,flexible and orderly mechanism for the distri bution of the trust assets.

3. The Trust assets are substantially protected against claims from creditors of the Settlor so long as the Trust was settled properly and in a timely manner and did not in itself result in the bank ruptcy or financial difficulty of the Settlor.

4. A Settlor may feel uncomfortable with the perceived divestment of assets into a Trust and so it is important that he learns to come to terms with the differences be tween legal and beneficial own ership. The Trustees have the le gal ownership but under very strict rules which make clear that the beneficial ownership and use remain with the Beneficiaries, whilst during his lifetime the Set tlor retains a significant degree of influence and enjoyment.

Taxation

The Trust should not be subject to any form of taxation if properly structured.

It is possible that the setting up of the Trust will result in tax conse quences for the Settlor and it is also possible that there may be ongoing tax consequences for the Settlor and/or the Beneficiaries in their country of residence and therefore local advice should be sought.

Text supplied by Form-A-Co Gibraltar Limited, PO Box 563, Suites 41/42 Victoria House, 26 Main Street, Gi braltar Tel: 79959 Fax: 79894 F.mail: forniacot^i ^ihraliar.^i Website: lowto.forinaeo.fi^i

Barristers & Acting Solicitors

Notary Public - Commissionerfor Oaths

Rst. 1985. The firm combines the varied wealth of personal & collective experience of the practitioners. From its inception, a very personal service has been offered to the Firm's clients. This has underpinned the philosophy which makes Attias & Levy a solid, dependabl^nd caring law practice.

Opportunities in internationai Trade

With the establishment of a dedicated trade department — headed by Andrew Cardona, who has spent three decades in banking on the Rock and is an acknowledged expert in the complexities of international trade documentation and finance — Barclays Bank s Gibraltar operation is steadily opening new commercial doors to businesses globally as far apart as Morocco and Korea or Australia and Iceland.

The possibilities the move offers to local entrepreneurs and middle men are apparent, and several are already conducting business with countries often regarded as "mar ginally" reliable — usingCardona s and the bank's expertise to ensure that their transactions are "risk free".

"Strategically positioned as we arc in Gibraltar, not only as a step ping-stone into the EU for many states who are not members of the 25-strong economic bloc, but as a potential bridge between Morocco and the rest of the world there are significant opportunities for Barclays to expand its operations," says Tim Streatfeild-James, local di rector of the bank. He is soon to visit the north African kingdom to assess the possibility of closer banking links there.

"Many businessmen in Gibraltar and elsewhere are hesitant about doing business with firms in coun tries where they think — rightly or wrongly — that there could be prob lems with delivery of the goods or payment when the goods have been delivered," Cardona says. "But by working with the bank and using correctly prepared letters ofcredit or similar instruments those sort of fears — or the actual risks — can be removed."

And he points out that there was a time — not all that long ago when trade finance formed a signifi cant portion of the business of most Gibraltar retail banks. However, electronic banking, misunderstand ing of its workings and a general perception that paying for imported goods by cheque is a cheaper and easier option than using a letter of credit have taken their toll on this area of our local financial structure.

But with Barclays decision earlier this year to recruit Cardona and thus extend sophisticated trade finance services to the Rock's business com munity as well as to other financial and commercial enterprises in the region, the pendulum has begun to swing back. Already several local firms have taken advantage of the know-how offered by Cardona and his section to push through deals running to hundreds of thousands of pounds...or euros... for these in ternational transactions can involve

a basket of currencies and can often be conducted in a currency- agreed by both parties to the deal.

The trade finance section uses a range of instruments to aid clients... from documentary letters of credit to tender bonds, performance bonds, international bank guaran tees and back to back letters ofcredit and loans.

"Few people in Gibraltar's bank ing community have the under standing and expertise in these ar eas which Andrew has," StreatfeQdjames says. And after a few minutes talking to Cardona anyone will re alise the banker has a valid point. Cardona is not only passionate about his subject and its history (let ters of credit had their origins in the days of John Bull's dominance of glc)bal trade), but has an encyclope dic knowledge of the trade finance 'bible' — the "Guide to documen tary credit operations" drawn up by the Internationa! Chamber of Com merce and known by the experts as

"UCP 400".

As well as detailing the vast ar ray of information that documents often require and explaining the various forms of credit, timing of payment, procedures and so on, "UCP 400" also spells out possible problems... as seen by both the buyer and the seller.

In a typical example the seller asks: We want to be certain that the buyer is able to pay on time, once the goods have been shipped. How can we minimize risk of non-pay ment. And the buyer for his part might ask: We do not know the seller... can we be sure he will de liver on time?

"These sort of questions crop up all the time," says Cardona. "And we can supply the answers. What it boils down to is that both buyer and seller — and for that matter the mid dle-man, if one is involved — want transactions to be convenient and to be sure that the contract will be ful filled. The seller probably needs ad-

vice on how to conduct complex trade transactions, while the buyer needsexpert assistance and facilities in dealing with often complex trans actions, particularly with the spe cific procedures which must be fol lowed. And documentar)' letters of credit are usually the best way to meet the concerns of all the parties involved in a transaction.

"From an International Trade Fi nance perspective,documentary let ters of credit can best be explained as a conditional undertaking given by a bank at the request of a buyer (normallv its customer) to effect payment and settlement to a seller," Cardona explains. "Though this is only done against the presentation or delivery of documents that prove the shipment of goods as specified by the buyer... though only if all terms and conditions set out on the letter of credit contract have been met."

"In a way things like letters of credit are similar to a detective yarn," Cardona adds, "in an area like international trade where buyer and seller may be thousands of miles apart, it is challenging to spot any risks — whether these aff to the bank or its client—and then emerge with a solution. And it's the sort of thing that always was — and still should be — important to traders as it prevents their being exposed whether to fraud or trickery.It is my job to protect both the customer and the bank."

"I've been fascinated by this side of banking ever since I joined Banco Indo Suez and Credit Agricole more than 30 years ago," he adds.

"We also use our contacts in and knowledge of International Trade Finance in the Western European fi nance centres,such as London,Lux embourg, Zurich, Geneva etc to gether with our Hong Kong and Dubai sister offices and further afield to assist our local and inter national customers. Cadona's trade finance team "will offer a high qualitv service to assist and advise our customers,identifying and miti gating risks, and engineering solu tions that enable them to maximise their return on individual transac tions and their relationships with their customers and suppliers".

"_!)» working with the hank and using correctly pre pared letters of credit or similar instruments these sortoffears—orthe actualrisks—can heremoved."

Market Firsts"for Motorists

As competition in the local insurance industry intensifies Argus/Norwich Union Is to offer its motoring customers a string of attractive new options which include a protected no claims bonus — which local chief executive Sandy Guthrie claims is a "market first" for Gibraltar — and the use of a courtesy car during repairs following an accident.

cover does not provide damage cover for that other vehicle, he points out.

Following representations to management by the staff, Argus has also decided to reintroduce uni forms for female staff—a welcome sight as you walk through the front door!

"Though Argus may be the new name above the door,the organisa tion has very strong links in the community going back more than 150 years, and is dedicated to pro viding the same professional, friendly service for which they have become renowned," Guthrie says.

With such a long track record in Gibraltar,it is probably not surpris ing that Guthrie believes that poli cyholders also create and maintain a track record with their insurers. "This can be an important factor at crucial limes, and it encourages sympathetic consideration in un derwriting non-standard risks as well as in considering claims," he says. "In other words, we believe in rewarding loyalty."

"We are ringing the changes and introducing the new features to co incide with our recent move to new premises, which are still on the ground floor of Regal House, but are more modern,airy and provide a belter working environment for both staff and customers," he adds.

The new Protected No Claims Bonus will be a market first for those local motor policyholders who qualify. And diere's a novel additional featurefromArgus/NU who will guarantee to maintain the premium without any increase for two years if no material changes are made to the policy in that period.

Material changes would include change of vehicle or change of driv ers, Cuthrie explains.

"We've all seen the adverts on this subject on UK national televi sion and now local policyholders will be able to benefit from similar optional coverage available at a small additional premium," Guthrie says. "However, only a maximum of two claims in three years will be allowed before the policy reverts to traditional under writing standards-

"In future motorists who have a Comprehensive policy and make a claim for damage to their vehicle

iwill be able to have the use of a courtesy car at no additional cost if they use an Argus/NU approved repairer.. subject ofcourse to avail ability," Guthrie says.

Earlier this year, Argus/NU in troduced coverage for driving other vehicles. This extension has been automatically included in all motor car policies where the policyholder is more than 25 years old and pro vides third party liability protection for the policyholder whilst driving someone else's car. However, this

And he points out to parents of students studying in the UK that cover is available for a student's personal effects if the parents' household policy is also insured with them.

Guthrie has also confirmed that since 1st July, they have been writ ing yachts and small craft insurance locally on their own account, whereas previously all such craft have been insured in the UK bv all local agents. He also confirmed that further new and exciting improve ments to policies will follow in the very near future.

those pnmiws

Guaranteed Premiums

Courtesy Cars

We are pleased to offer No Claims Bonus Protection on your Motor policy subject to payment of a small additional premium and certain qualifying conditions. Once applied, we will then also guarantee to maintain your premium for 2 years if no other material changes take place during that period.

To improve our Claims service to our Policyholders, we have arranged for free courtesy cars whilst your vehicle is being repaired by our approved repairers following a claim under your policy. (Subject to availability)

In a world ofchange and uncertainty,give yourself peace of mind with ARGUS/Norwich Union. We have been here for a long time, with links going back for over 150 years, and are dedicated to providing a professional, friendly and efficient insurance service to the people of Gibraltar

If you have any questions or would like a quotation, please call 79520 ext.224 or e-mail enquiries(S)norwich-union.gi or call in to our office at Regal House.

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Who budiUsthe fauards

How can a regulator demonstrate it,is doing its job?

In a recent speech I spoke of the importance of regulatory independence. International standards are clear and unequivocal; a regulator must be operationally independent from external political or commercial interference in the exercise of its functions and powers. In Gibraltar such regulatory independence is clearly and firmly in place.

Independence enhances the cred ibility and effectiveness ofthe super visory process. More importantly, according to IMF, "in nearly every major financial crisis of the past dec ade, from East Asia to Russia, Tur key and Latin America, political in terference in financial sector regula tion has helped make a bad situa tion worse."

Yet independence has its limits. Like any power, whether that of governments, the police or the courts there must bo checks and bal ances.If not,there is the danger that power can be abused, for example through the risk of corruption and bias. At the very least it may be ex ercised in an inefficient or ineffec tive way.Therefore such independ ence should not come alone; with it there must also be accountability.

Independence without such ac countability is deeply weakened.Yet to simply stale that the regulator must be accountable is, in itself, meaningless, without defining to whom and how it should be ac countable

In this article 1 would like to look at how a regulator can be properly accountable, whilst at the same time preserving its independence. The points I make are general in the sense that they are applicable to all independent regulators, rather than focused on the Commission itself.

I believe that now is the time to explore this issue. According to the international assessments of us, the Commission has been effective as a regulator. However, effectiveness does pot, in itself, absolve us from accountability. "Outcome account ability" does not outweigh "process accountability". Whilst we mav well be less questioned at times when we are seen as being success ful, that is not enough. We are ac countable whether we are success ful or not.So let us engage in the de bate now. Let us face facts, ulti mately, as a regulator we will be judged by our failures not our suc cesses.

What does accountability mean?

There is often confusion between control and accountability. Regula tors should not, with the exception

of the courts(and,on occasion Gov ernment), be under the direct con trol of anyone. Yet we are liable to account for our actions. To give an example, in Gibraltar, no one can generally tell the Commissioner to refuse an application for a licence to operate as a bank. However, to en sure accountability, the Commis sioner must explain the basis upon which he grants or refuses such ap plications.

The regulator should demonstrably take into consideration the views of those to whom he is accountable. However, some views mav be con tradictory toothers. On other occa sions the regulator must consider

whether those views are based upon short term desires rather than long term interests. The regulator must balance competing interests. We therefore do not owe a duty, rather, being accountable as an independ ent regulator is about a process of transparency and participation.This does not mean that accountability of an independent entity has no teeth, there must always be the power to get rid of the regulator!

To whom are we accountable?

The first question is therefore "to whom should we be accountable?"

In answering this, it is important to go beyond simple legislative ac

countability. As the Commissioner and Commission members are ap pointed(and can be removed)bv the Governor, there is clearly a line of accountability. Yet it is the Govern ment of Gibraltar which determines the legislation under which we op erate and who represents the peo ple of Gibraltar. Indeed, thev pro vide part of our finances. Clearly we are therefore also accountable to them.

Clearly we are accountable to the courts. Regulatory decisions are subject to judicial review.

We are also accountable to the in dustry we regulate. We have a di rect effect on the business they do and they pay for 90% of our activi ties. There is no mutual exclusivity between regulating a person and being accountable to them. As stated above,accountability is about being liable to account for ones ac tions. It does not mean under the control or direction of another..

Similarly, as a key part of our statutory duty is to protect consum ers of the firms we regulate, we are accountable to them.

Furthermore, we are accountable to the public at large, not only be cause they may become consumers but also because they might be af fected by our failure to prevent fi nancial institutions being used by money launderers and other crimi nals. Our failure may increase their costs.

Finally, because the failure of a fi nancial institution may also have an impact beyond Gibraltar, we have a responsibility to the international fi nancial and regulatory community.

For the sake of convenience I will mfer to those groups collectively as our "stakeholders". We have further stakeholders, including the staff of the Commission,our suppliers and others. However for the purpose of this article the above groups repre sent those to whom we have pri mary accountability.

This does not mean, however we are accountable to all these stake holders in the same way,to the same extent, at the same time. For in stance,accountabilit)'must take into account the principles of confiden tiality.

Marcus Kiltick, Chairman and Commissioner, Gibraltar Financial Services Commission

For what are we accountable?

We are accountable tor ensuring that our processes are etfectivo,effi cient and that our powers are exer cised in a fair and transparent way.

What are they ways in which accountability can be exercised?

Transparency

1 believe that transparency is a fundamental element of account ability. Unless stakeholders are aware of a regulator's processes and activities,challenge is more difficult. For this reason we publish as much as possible on our website,covering not only what we do,but the way in which we do it. Where relevant we also reproduce speeches and arti cles.

Our stakeholders have a right to criticise not merely our actions but the culture and methodology that underlies them. More importantly, we believe, by understanding our approach, our actions become, in themselves, clearer and therefore more transparent.

Scrutiny

There are two forms of scrutiny; judicial and non-judicial. Judicial represents the power of the court to review and overturn a decision of the regulator. There must be a sys tem permitting such a review. The existence of an appeals mechanism through the courts helps ensure that regulatory decisions are made within the law consistently and are well reasoned. Sometimes within the regulator itself there exists an independent appeals tribunal which reviews regulatory decisions.

Non judicial scrutiny generally comes via external assessments.This may be required by statute, as was the recent review of the Commission which was required by the Financial Services Commission Ord inance, or as part of the increased global scru tiny of financial service regulation. This later scrutiny includes the cur rent and previous round of IMF re views of "offshore finance centres". These are important to accountabil ity as they enable a regulators ad herence to its statutory duties/ in ternational standards to be assessed. However they are only truly effec tive where the results of such an as sessment are published.

Non judicial scrutiny can be fur ther enhanced by the regulator par ticipating in various internationally recognised benchmark assessments, for instance Investors in People and ISO 9001. Here it is the attainment of the necessary standard that is the accountability key. This is because it is the attainment(or failure) which demonstrates the level of efficiency in the regulator's processes.

Consultation

Another method of accountabil

ity is through an effective and trans parent consultation process. This enables the regulators proposals to be subject to scrutiny. Furthermore, by having the results of the process public, consultees can determine for themselves the strength of feeling on a particular proposal. Indeed by having consultative feedback and the regulators responses to that feed back public the robustness and va lidity of the process can be verified.

However,consultation has its lim its. The consultation process is re source intensive, not just for the regulator but for the firms and oth ers who are part of the process. It takes time to write, read, assimilate and respond to a consultation paper. Regulators must,therefore, not only ensure that they do not inundate and therefore devalue the process, but also that they clearly explain the issues relevant to each proposal. This way,stakeholders can focus on the issues material to them.This we now do whenever we consult.

Scope and Rules

Governments can and must de fine the scope of activities which they mandate to a regulator.

Where a regulator sets rules for those it regulates, accountability is best achieved through a right of the legislature to "call back" these rules. This means that the legislature can overturn rules where it considers the regulator has exceeded its authority or has otherwise not complied with the remit given to it.

Such a power can, if used inap propriately, undermine regulatory independence. Therefore, the grounds for calling back rules should be clearly set out and reasons given when the power is used. This can be achieved by incl usion in stat ute, regulations or some otiier agree ment (such as a memorandum of understanding) available to other stakeholders, the call back remit.

This "call back" power could be supplemented by the use of"sunset clauses", under which rules estab lished by the regulator are only op erational for a specific duration,and cease to be effective unless endorsed by the legislature within a certain time.

Accessibility

This may seem, at first glance,an unusual accountabilitv tool. How ever unless stakeholders have access to the regulator their ability to exer cise their power of holding the regu lator to account is limited. At the Commission we have extended this accessibility by making our website available to the visually impaired and by introducing a feedback fadlit\'enabling individuals to comment (anonymously if they wish)on any part of the Commission's activities. We have committed to responding^^

Private Banking

SG Hambros explains Its philosophy when it

comes

to private banking:

There once was a poor man who truly believed that ifever he grow rich, all his financial worries would be over. Yet when fortune smiled upon him,and he did indeed grow rich, he found that the rei>erse was true.Certainly, he no longer had to worry about a lack of money, but he began to worry even more about the money he had. It was at this point he discovered that he needed the services of a good private banker.

At SG Hambros our strategy is to focus on the things that we can do well and then strive to do them better than anybody else. SG Hambros offers "a complete pri vate banking service". Our serv ices are what you might regard as "flexible", and on the whole, are built around the individual and his or her specific personal and financial requirements. Essen tially to our clients, we are in the important business of safeguard ing accumulated or inherited wealth and bringing our clients into closer contact with the world's financial markets, politi cal and economic trends. Money

is a strange animal. It ranks, with love,as man's greatest source ofjoy and, with death, as his greatest source of anxiety.

Given that often as high a figure as 90 per cent or more of our busi ness comes through recommenda tions, personal relationships con tinue to rate high on our corporate agenda.As clients become more so phisticated and demanding the more we need to provide availabil ity of "service" and the more im portant "service" will become.

We believe that the most vital re lationship is that which exists be tween the clients and his or her"re lationship manager".Theoretically, our client relationship managers are responsible for everything per taining to our clients'financial lives but in reality their ser\'ices go much further.The effectiveness of this re lationship is measurable in terms of performance,clientsatisfaction and the actual and perceived value of products and services.

Generations of our clients' fami lies have benefited from our advice and expertise from having their own Private Bank wherever in the

^publicly to such feedback, again boosting the transparency of the process.

Corporate Governance

Whilst corporate governance is primarily concerned with internal accountabilitv, it is also important in respect of accountability to our stakeholders. Our stakeholders have a right to know how the Com mission operates internally. For this reason the Commission publishes on its website its level of compliance with the "Combined Code on Cor porate Governance", together with any action we are taking/ propose to take concerning enhancing our level of compliance.

Removal

Clearly, given the independence of the regulator, in the interests of accountability. Government should have the power of removal where it considers that the regulator has not acted appropriately. To prevent this being used as a tool for undermin ing independence,some safeguards are necessary. For instance, there should be explicit procedures re garding dismissal, preferably in stat

ute. These should, as is the case in Gibraltar statute, set out the grounds for dismissal. Furthermore, when dismissal does occur, the rea sons for the dismissal should be publicly disclosed,

International Accountability

Gibraltar is expected to comply with a range of international stand ards, Whether it is the Financial Action Task Force(FATF)regarding money laundering and terrorist fi nancing, the Basle Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), the International Organisation of Secu rities Commissions(lOSCO) or the International Association of Insur ance Supervisors (lAIS), all have principles or standards with which we are expected to adhere. Indeed, the IMF review next year will assess our level of compliance.

Whilst none of these bodies are rule setting authorities as such, the impact of their requirements are ef fectively the same. If we do notcom ply we are subject, not merely to reputationa! damage, but to the threat of international sanctions with an inevitable impact on our fi nance sector.

world they might be. In a market where differentiation is difficult words like "service","quality" and "value" Private Banking revolves around relationships.

From SG Hambros'pointof view.

it can add the best of French and British heritage,the weight and fi nancial standing of a world class international bank and a tradition in private client services and that, we would say, is reason enough.

The Commission is committed to compliance with these standards. Yet, the question must be asked, to whom are these standard setting bodies accountable? Originally,they operated on a consensus basis, es tablishing voluntarv, indeed aspirational, standards. However, jurisdictions who were never part of determining these standards, in deed some who are not even mem bers of the relevant body, are now subject to their obligations.

These bodies generally have no mandate from parliament nor are they answerable to a parliamentary body.In effect their standards are set bv small groups of individuals.

In an era of modern corporate governance this is simply not ac ceptable. We are, therefore, playing our part in pushing for greater ac countability of these bodies. It is not a simple task; indeed the bodies themselves are aware of this grow ing criticism and are working to make themselves more transparent and accountable, with greater con sultation.

Such international accountability is key as the role of these interna tional standard setters is increas

ingly vital. Their importance of these bodies is growing. This is be cause financial institutions are fre quently international in their opera tion and their failure therefore has an impact far beyond their home jurisdictions. There is also a commonalitv of risks faced by regu lators for which a common response is essential. Finally, for the indus try itself,common standards reduce costs and improve their efficiency. Because of these the need for proper accountability has never been stronger.

Conclusion

In the 21" century, financial serv ice regulators have considerable, some say too much, power. This they exercise independently. Whilst choosing the right people to be regu lators is the best protection against the arbitrary or bias use of this power,this is often achieved by luck as much as judgement. The only effective demonstrable control is via appropriate accountability. The an swer to the question "who guards, the guards?", then becomes simple, you do.

SC Hanibros_

pRIVAlf.

SG Hambros is a private bank providing a comprehensive wealth management service. Through experienced private bankers we are able to provide innovative solutions for all your investment management,financial planning, trust and banking requirements. It is our responsibility to understand your present and future needs, to plan ahead and present solutions tailored for your individual circumstances.

Our strength is the coordination of a number of specialist areas to provide a truly integrated sen/ice. www.sghambros.com

For further information, please contact:

SG Hambros Bank & Trust (Gibraltar) Limited

PC Box 375, Hambro House 32 Line Wall Road, Gibraltar

Tel:+350 74850 ■ Fax:+350 79037

Email: gibraltar@sghambros.com

SG Hambros

ueveloping:- rformanc

Happy and contented staff make for happy customers. It's a self-evident truth — for, as any Main Street shopper will confirm, the surly or disinterested counter staff encountered in several outlets are a definite turn off — and is also at the core of the employment policy adopted by Barclays Bank... though, being a bank,the policy is wrapped up in phrases such as "employer of choice" and "HPO ethos".

"Developing staff is a long-term investment, so that being an 'em ployer of choice' is something that we take very seriously" says Peter Horrell of the bank's international division. "It is a philosophy that affects all areas of work — from re cruitment and training to perform ance and reward — and is a direct result of the High Performance Or ganisation (HPO)ethos to which Barclays has signed up."

In simple terms, being an 'em ployer of choice' means that peo ple choose to work for you, rather than for your opposition. This goal is achieved, Horrell claims, by drawing on the best ideas and the leading thinking on how the workplace is structured and then finding "the most creative ways of motivating and rewarding mem bers of staff so that thev perform extraordinarily."

There are several ways to ap proach this, though at the core is the need to attract "excepti(mally tal ented employees who are ambi tious, hardworking,committed and focused and who are passionate about making a difference," he ar gues. And that means careful selec tion, not merely opting for the first person to respond to a job adver tisement or turn up for an inter view.

Though this involves a more rig orous approach to recruitment and induction, it "ensures you hire round pegs for round holes" and that the right person is chosen for and is comfortable in the right job, Horrell savs.

"The result of this approach is better staff retention — which in turn ensures consistency anci con tinuity of client service, and loyal employees — a huge advantage in today's recruitment market."

A structured approach to per formance management is impor tant, he adds. Each employee should have a performance devel opment plan which encompasses a set of structured performance ob jectives against which they can be assessed and reviewed. Done on a regular basis using feedback from managers and fellow members of staff as well as customers or clients, a more rounded picture of how an individual's performance is per

ceived can be developed, he says.

"It is then important that those employees who perform — par ticularly those who perform well are recognised and rewarded."

Training and development is in tegral to the success of this ap proach and the international divi sion has launched a training and development scheme which Barclays has dubbed: Professional Depth and Technical Capability. Setting this up has involved the appointment of two training and developments managers who will visit all the bank's international operations — including Gibraltar.

As well as these two managers the bank operates a Continued Pro fessional Development scheme which allows staff to record the courses, seminars and private study they have undertaken and receive an externally validated qualification from the Institute of

Financial Services. Also available to staff are professional qualifica tions such as the Corporate Bank ing Diploma,Certificate in Interna tional Cash Management and busi ness language courses and of course the funding to enable staff to undertake them, Horrell points out.

"To help support staff in identi fying and achieving their training and development needs an internal website and role specific induction and training plans have been set up," he adds. "The scheme has been launched with a face-to-face event for team leaders across the business, and a personalised train ing and development pack for each staff member of Barclays Interna tional Corporate entitled 'grow yourself has been provided.

"One of the really exciting things to come out of this scheme is the fact that everybody in Barclays In

ternational Corporate automati cally becomes a member of the In stitute of Financial Services which will benefit staff in maximising their personal development."

The investmentensures that new staff joining International Corpo rate will receive training appropri ate and specific to this section of the bank and which emphasises tech nical knowledge.

"Our people will have a clear understanding of what is expected of them and we believe customers will choose Barclays because they are highly professional and techni cally capable," says Horrell.

The Professional Depth and Tech nical Capability programme will guarantee that Barclays Interna tional Corporate strives ahead as a high performing organisation and ensures that Barclays has the best staff to provide customers with truly innovative products and services.

'The resultofthis approach is hotter staffretention- which in turn ensures consistency and continuity of client service,and ioyal empioyees"

On-lin Incurance mad eacy

Ibex, the Gibraltar-based insurance company with Lloyds' of London links, which since its inception four years ago has gained nearly 60,000 expatriate clients on the Costas and in the Algarve officially launched its on-line subsidiary Trafalgar Insurance Brokers at a function in Casemates last month.

Trafalgar which is to provide a "walk-in" and on-line insurance service for residents on the Rock has already issued more than 150 policies accord ing to its manager Bill Pisani, who has spent the past20 years in the Rock's rapidly growing insur ance sector. Ibex manag ing director John Harrison believes that its on-line system - introduced last October and using soft ware specially developed for the firm by a Dublin company over a 16month spell — which Tra falgar will share will al low clients to obtain quotes for, take out and pay for motor or home cover in less than 10 min utes.

"Though Trafalgar Insurance Brokers will provide facilities for walk-in customers, it will be par ticularly useful for professionals who are pushed for time — bank ers, lawyers, trust company peo ple," Harrison explains."They will be able to call up our website and after filling in a few details will be able to choose the policy that fits their needs and the premiums which suit their pockets.

"They will be able to print out their policy and arrange immediate payment and cover in less than 10 minutes," claims Harrison.

"For car insurance cover,for in stance,our agents in Spain who are familiar with the system can proc-

Welcome aboard for the best rates in towr trafalgar insurance introduces Captain Jac

according to Harrison staff numbers continue to grow.

"As you expand, so do the number of claims and this is a fairly staff intensive area of the business," he explains. And the staff need to be knowledgeable.

"As a company we have always encouraged staff members to continue with their professional training — for which we pay the full costs of the courses, notes textbooks and so on. Cur rently there are at least 16 of the morejunior members of our team who are at dif ferent levels studying for the diploma or certificate of the Chartered Institute of Insurers—the only profes sional insurance qualifica tions available in Britain.

ess a policy and issue cover in two or three minutes."

Switching to what is becoming an on-line web-based business has involved a "significant invest ment", Harrison admits: But he adds that advantages of the expan sion and the new avenues it has opened more than outweigh the costs.

Until now,although Ibex is based in Gibraltar and registered by the

FSC,its operations have centred on Spain's expatriate communities where, over the past four years, it has built up a client base nearly 60,000 strong. In the process, its staff — many of whom are multi lingual — has expanded from three men and two secretaries/reception ists to 49. And although the under writing side of Ibex business is es sentially e-commerce based — and is "virtually a paperless company",

Although Ibex's operations are closer to those of an insurance com pany — issuing its own policies, sotting tariffs and handling claims — it is registered as an insurance brokerage... and because of the technical complications this causes in relation to aspects ofSpanish law, Harrison is to move his claims de partment from Gibraltar to Soto Grande, where it will be registered with the DSG.

a Corporate Presence Online

These days it is not difficult to convince business people that they need a website to nnaximise the potential of their business. To attract all potential customers to your business you need a presence on the web. Starting with a completely clean canvas, it's easy to feel quite daunted by all the technical,financial and creative questions to be tackled when starting your own website.

Creation of a unique pro fessional-looking site might throw up a few challenges; buying a domain name,find ing a good-value web hosting (rent for the internet) and de signing a site are all things that might need to be consid ered.

Why a website?

The internet is open to any one — there are no 'rules' as such, so just about anybody can have their own website. The popularity of the web has grown so much in the past few years, and it's no longer just academics and technogeeks that use it. The web has become a crucial part of eve ryday life — so much so that, these days, if a film, product.

shop or company doesn't have an internet presence then it probably isn't worth bothering with.

If you're serious about some thing then you'll want to give it a voice on the internet. For busi nesses, big or small, a website can be vital in generating publicity and awareness. It's like having a big billboard advert permanently on display for the entire world to see.

But even if you don't have a busi ness to promote you can enjoy the benefits of having an online pres ence. You might belong to a club or society,and a website is a great way of sharing information with the other members.Perhaps you are an amateur photographer and feel the need to show your work to the world via an online gallery. Or maybe you are just proud of your favourite pet and believe that he or she deserves a shot at global fame.

You may be self-employed and want to use your website as a kind of online calling card. Or perhaps you're thinking about setting up shop on the web yourself to cash in on the popularity of online shop ping by selling your own wares to

the public. You might have a very serious reason for wanting to start a website, or you may simply treat it as a bit of fun.

The important thing to understand before you throw yourself into a cyber adventure is precisely why you want a website, and what purpose it will even tually serve once it has been posted online. Once you have worked that bit out, half the battle is won.

What Should Website's Home Look Like?

Your website should I

age and branding. Make sure that any logos, styles, images, phrases etc are con sistent with other promo tional material so that customers perceive the website to be part of the company's whole branded package.

Think about who will be coming to the home page and what their ex pectations are. What are they look ing for and will they find it? Will a first-time visitor understand what your business is about from a quick look at the home page? Will a visi tor return to your website after their first visit? What will keep them coming back? Also, once you have a website, test its effectiveness and usability. Sit a friend (or even a stranger) down in front of your website and ask them to think aloud about what they see and whether it meets their expectations. Watch how easily they navigate links in your site to find what fliey are looking for. Minimise the number of clicks to the most fre quently needed information.

Bear in mind that your site's home page will not be the only 'landing' page for visitors to your site. Search engines may send us ers to any page of your site,so navi-

project vourcompany'sim

gaHon around your site should also be easy starting from any page. Tempt your website visitors to ex plore your site further; otherwise they will very quickly hit'Back' on their browser and go somewhere else.

How Do I Choose a Domain Name?

A domain name is unique/ so you cannot take a domain name that somebody else has already regis tered. Likewise, nobody else can take a domain name that is regis tered to you (there may be some exceptions devised to prevent cybersquatting,but provided this is not your intention, your registered domain name should be safe).

Most web hosting companies have a page on their website where you can type in a domain name and see whether it has already been reg istered. If your preferred domain name has not been registered, you're in luck and should probably go ahead and register it right away. (If somebody else gets there first you will have difficulty getting 'your' domain name back again.) Domain registration is not expen sive and lasts for two years.You can keep the domain indefinitely pro vided you renew the registration every two years; otherwise it ex pires and becomes available for oth ers to take.

Remember that the domain that you choose says something about your organisation. For example: .com domain says that your or ganisation aspires to a worldwide presence (if it is not already a glo bal organisation).

.co.uk domain is either for a busi ness based principally in the UK or the localised website of a global or ganisation.

.org website is generally for non profit making organisations

The domain name should also be closely related to your business brand.In most cases this means the name of the website should contain the name of the company. In other cases the website may be named after a product of your business or its benefit. In these cases the advan tage is that your site is more likely to appear as the result of a web search because users are more likely to search for products and benefits than company names.

Where to keep your website?

If you arc serious about running all or part of your business on line then one of the most crucial deci sions that you can make is on how you host your site. There arc many hosting companies offering space ranging from Free (with condi tions!) through to literally thou sands of pounds, many will offer to host your site — how can you choose?

We recommend that you host your site with an experienced host — even if it isn't with us — a lot of customers come to us after being frustrated by hosts who say they can, but then have difficulties set ting it up and maintaining it.

Next month: How do I attract visitors to my site and how do I know how successful it is?

Forfurther information contact john at }D Wch Solutions email info@jdzoebsolutions.co.ukor telephone 51414. There is also information avail able on the wwio.jdwebsolutious.co.uk or for a face toface chat ifou can drop into their of fice at 60 Cily Mill Line.

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Now the Rock's biggest employer outside the civil service — with nearly 1,000 jobs provided by the three major players and many more among the* 11 other licensed gaming companies — Gibraltar's Cyberspace gaming industry continues to expand... and attract attention from both global punters and the world's media.

lowed consultations with the Gibral tar Government, the gaming regu lator Tim Bristow and senior part ners of Hassans. Both the Chief Min ister and the regulator were sup portive of the moves and gave both the green light.

The public offer would enhance 888's profile, brand recognition and credibilitv', a spokesperson for the company claimed at the time of the launch,adding:"It will provide 888 with a currency which can be used for acquisitions and to recruit, retain and incentivise [sic] management and employees."

Anderson believes the flotation marked "an important step in our goal to become the market leader in the global on-line gaming entertain ment industry and will enable us to increase further our brand profile, recognition and credibility."

In recent weeks, advised by local international law firm Hassans,both PartyGaming and 888 were success fully floated on the London Stock Exchange, and though PartyCaming's shares took a tum ble... losing millions of pounds of their paper value in a single day's trading in September — they re mained so highly rated that the com pany swept into Footsie 100 index becoming the first Internet firm to join the prestigious list of Britain's top blue chip companies.

At the same time both companies — which between them employ more than 600 staff and are still re cruiting and were established here thanks to the efforts of senior part ners in Hassans — stressed their long-term commitment to Gibraltar and its economy.

"We are absolutely committed to Gibraltar. There is absolutely no question mark over that whatso ever," PartyGaming CEO Richard Sega! said soon after the on-line ca sino group completed the biggest London flotation in five years. This set its market value at almost £5 bil lion — more than such household names as British Airways and ICI, the global chemicals giant.

"We have got a pool of employ ees and have scaled up with the de mands placed on ourselves and with business growth," says Segal add ing that "we want to be the largest gaming company in the world".

Though the value t)l its publicly held shares outstrips that of its 888 rival (which released only 25 per cent of its shares when it launched in October) in terms of local em ployee numbers PartyGaming has some way to go. 888, better known locally as Cassava, puts 380 "bums on seats" in Gibraltar(the phrase is a favourite of chief executive John Anderson's, not mine), while Victor Chandler — the company which first put the Rock on the interna tional gaming map — runs 888 a close second with 376 staff at the lat est count. Anderson employs a fur ther 100 or so at the company's back up call centre in Antigua and would like to bring them to Gibraltar — if he could "find seats to put bums on. The problem is that 1 just can't find enough good space to expand our Gibraltar offices," he told Gibraltar Magazine.

The original Cassava company was based in Antigua but when Anderson and the board decided to take the gaming operation public it was decided that a difference base would be needed. There were three options — the Isle of Man,Alderney and Gibraltar, the soft-spoken Scot explains.

"1 had known and respected

James Levy the senior partner at Hassans for years before opting for Gibraltar, but 1 don't let friendship influence business decisions and looked at all three jurisdictions be fore choosing the Rock," Anderson says."And it was the right decision. The Government is forward looking and pays attention to business and its needs... which is all-important in anv business environment.

"Once we had decided to come to Gibraltar, James and Hassans were immensely helpful. In the world of international business you get'dealmakers' and 'deal-breakers' James Levy is a'deal-maker'."

Anderson managed Ladbrooke's property portfolio — latterly as a di rector and active member of the bookmaking giant's board — before switching to Internet gaming which he believes has a "great future."

"Globally there is huge growth to come in the sphere of internet gam ing," he adds. "Our research and that of others shows that there is di rect correlation between the expan sion ofbroadband services and gam ing on the internet... and broadband is still expanding rapidly, with a long way to go."

The decisions to take the two big internet gaming firms public fol-

World-wide on-line gaming rev enues last year were estimated to be $8.2 billion(compared to $5.9 billion in 2003) and are expected to reach $12 billion this year.

"Despite this growth, the global on-line gaming industry is still rela tively small when compared to the global gaming market," Anderson says. "At present online gaming is estimated to represent approxi mately 5 per cent of the total global gaming market, valued at approxi mately $250 billion a year. Our di rectors believe that there is signifi cant scope for future growth in the on-line gaming industry."

In fact, Christiansen Capital Ad visers, a specialist gaming consul tancy estimates that the on-line gam ing market will be the most rapidly growing segment of the global gam ing market over the next five years and that by 2010 on-line gamblers will be spending $24 billion dollars on internet gaming — a significant increase in its share of the world's gambling spend which will have risen to $280 billion by then.

Expansion at these levels should stand all of the Rock's 15 gaming firms in good stead. And though as Gibraltar residents we are not al lowed to gamble on line with lo cally-based gaming companies,the economicspin-offfrom them should continue to grow. Government rev enue from its tax arrangements with the gaming operators is already , more than £4 million annually and should grow exponentially over the next few vears.

Globally there Is huge growth to come In the sphere el internet gaming"

Ih a turbulent, fast changing world, there's a rock-solid offshore location that is costeffective, well regulated and accessible. And with the unique advantage of being in the European Union. This potent place is Gibraltar.

As a leading law firm, Hassans has steered many clients to the benefits Gibraltar offers, whether they are global corporations or private individuals of means. They find us expert, innovative, commercially-minded and client-focused.

Easy to deal with, too. There may be many miles of ocean between us but we're only a mouse-click away. Visit our website at www.gibraltarlaw.com or email us at info(g)hassans.gi.

Gibraltnr,although itspriiicipal

port activitv is bunkering, is also interested in acting as a "line-linking" hub for container transhipment, which is experienc ing significant growth in the Medi terranean.

At present, containers in the Bav of Gibraltar are handled primarily at the port of Algeciras,operated by Maersk Sea-Land — to handle the increase in activity Algcciras Port is expanding across the Bay to a new port being built at Campamento which will beat least the same size.

Add to these existing port and handling facilities the gigantic su per-port in construction just outside Tangiers, on the Moroccan coast just opposite Gibraltar, due to be in business in 2007, and it becomes clear that Gibraltar needs to con sider caretojlly what range and level of services and facilities it wishes to offer.

At the crossroads of the busiest sea-lanes that use the Suez canal as well as being a through- route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediter ranean and on to the Far East, the Bay of Gibraltar, Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar also act as a bridge between two continents as well as being the meeting-point of the north-south and east-west traf fic routes.

The Port of Algeciras receives

more than 55 million tonnes of to tal traffic and more than 2.2 million TEUs making it the leading Span ish port, the sixth container port in Europe and one of the top 25 In the world and its new capacity across the Bay in Campamento is set to enable the Port to substantially in crease that put-through.

The Maersk Sea-Land current container-handling capacity is based on a quay which has a sur face area of68.6 hectares, fitted out with 12 Portainer cranes,7of which are Super Post Panamax standard.

The quay has a 1,456 metre berthline with draughts 14 metres to 16 metres and another 343 metre berthline for draughts of15 metres.

Established in 1928 under the name of Maersk Line, Maersk Sea-Land is today one of the largest liner ship ping companies in the world with more than 300 container vessels and 950,000 containers, operated through a network of its own offices and container terminals in more than 100 countries. The AP MollerMaersk company now has a size able presence in the Mediterranean because it also has the concession

to operate the facility at the now $1.4bn Tangiers super-port,Tanger - Medilerranec port, with a 1.3m TEU annual capacity terminal, 40 hectares in area, with an 800-metre dock.

Maersk now has Tangiers, Algeciras, and also the newly opened Suez Canal Container Ter minal with the Suez terminal being operated as a common-user facility, to handle both local cargo and re gional transhipments.

A second container terminal is planned for TangiersMcd, based on the original plan set out in 2002 when the Moroccan Government created a 550-square kilometre Spe cial Development Zone 35 kilome tres to the east of Tangiers and north of Tetuan, to promote access to for eign markets for companies in Mo rocco and to develop their future logistics processes, as well as to con tribute to the boosting of the Mo roccan economy and the develop ment of tourism in the region. Mo rocco's main ports arc Casablanca, Tangiers, Mohammedia, Jorf A1 Asfar, Agadir and N'ador but Tangiers-Med port is set to be Mo-

rocco's main sea gateway in the fu ture.

Designed as an exchange plat form and hub port, especially for container transfer work, it is a ma jor project backed by the nearby market of over 600 million inhabit ants,and as such,for the year 2020, traffic of 3 million TEUs is antici pated,as well as private investment worth 1,000 million Euros, and the creation of 145,000 jobs.

Its two stated objectives are to absorb the container transfers of the main shipping lines with east-west and north-south traffic; and the other,to carry out the transfers with neighbouring regions as a destina tion, such as the eastern Mediter ranean, and northern and western Africa.

In the meantime, discussions continue as to how to convert the Campo de Gibraltar into a Free Trade Zone, but there are many obstacles to overcome before it can become reality.

Tangiers-Med is already aboutto implement its free trade ama which will consist ofa Logistics Free Trade Area of 138 hectares and a customs area, an Industrial Free Trade Area as an extension of the Tangiers free trade area situated 20 kilometres from the new port with an area of 6tX)hectares and a Commercial Free Trade Area located 18 kilometres from the new port and near the

Gibraltar needs te censider carefully what range and level of services and facilities It wishes to offer

town of Fnideq with an area of 200 hectares. Business to business ac tivities linked to the logistics free trade area will take place there,and will enable duty free shopping cen tres to be established.

The development of the Western Mediterranean area, including dis cussions about a "fixed-link", a bridge or a tunnel to connect Eu rope and Africa, was given impe tus back in 1995 when on 28th No vember the members of the Euro pean Union and their 12 Mediter ranean partners declared in Barce lona their intention to "establish amongst themselves a long-lasting, stable partnership in order to con solidate peace and stability in the Mediterranean founded on eco nomic growth, dialogue and mu tual understanding and respect".

The third Fan-European Confer ence on Transport in Helsinki pro vided the occasion to put forward a programme of work centred around the concept of priority transport corridors, taking up the work already done within the EuroMediterranean framework and in particular the work done by the Transport Group of the Western Mediterranean(GTMO).

At the level of the Western Medi terranean, discussions are ad vanced and the establishment of co operation has made it possible to give more detailed shape to these corridors with the decision, amongst other issues, to uphold as priority corridors: the Maghreb Union Motorway; the transMaghreb train; the Latin arc; the network of port and airport multimodal platforms and their connections with land infrastruc ture; the networks required for the harmonization and effectiveness of air control; the fixed link across the Strait of Gibraltar.A certain number of priority issues apart from infra

structure were also established in order to facilitate exchanges these issues included a new air con trol system up to European stand ards and certain administrative and customs procedures.

The study made it possible to evaluate growth in traffic flows in the Western Mediterranean and also highlighted the importance for the Euro-Mediterranean Partner ship of establishing rapid, reliable transport links for high added value goods and certain food prod ucts. It also called attention to the fact that international flows along the main land routes remain mod est in comparison with internal movement.

The principal infrastructure needs were defined on the basis of these projections and the projects were then classified into several groups; one of the projects in this first group relevant to the Gibral tar area was the extension of the port of Tangiers or construction of a new Tangiers port;one other was the modernization of and bringing up to European standards air navi gation systems.

A project, the main objectives of which are to facilitate Euro-Medi terranean exchanges and to contrib ute to strengthening relations be tween the two shores of the Medi terranean, is the fixed link across the Strait of Gibraltar. This project is stated to need "a concerted ap proach that takes into account other projects... such as those... incorpo rating the fixed link in Spanish and Moroccan railway infrastructure programmes and the link with the port of Tangiers."

It does not include detail on the question as to where the fixed link will enter and leave each side, but there is conjecture that the new Tan gier port has already anticipated the answer.

The development of the Western Mediterranean area,including discussions ahout a "fixed-link", was given impetus hack in 1995

Selecting a Cempany's Greatest Asset

Whether domestic or international the staffing of an organisation begins with planning. The approach to planning can range from formal and centralised to devolved and Informal and will largely depend on the nature, size and the culturfe of the organisation. Human Resource planning implies a balance between demand and supply of human resources in relation to strategic plans and staffing requirements.

Organisations in general are be coming increasingly global. This presents a dilemma as to the origin of potential employees. Does the organisation use an expatriate or docs it take the host or third-coun try option? Such arrangements need a maximum guarantee of suc cess taking into account culture, working practices and the precise requirements of international op erations which in turn need to be translated into the strategic human resource plan.

Indeed a good human resource plan will show how labour supply and demand can be achieved by re cruitment, personal development, transfers,natural wastage or redun dancies. The methodology chosen will have inherent implications for HR policies such training and de velopment, performance manage ment and remuneration. However, it is important that the HR plan is implemented and vital thcit it is completely aligned with corporate strategy and needs.It must be high lighted that organisations take a short-term view in response to mar ket / environmental pressures, which tends to side-step the HR plan. Furthermore this approach has been labelled as restrictive in terms of achieving rapid, effective change. But recently HR planning has evolved to taking into account qualitative aspects of planning that include environmental factors as well as orgamsational weaknesses and strengths (SWOT and PEST analysis). The ensuing result has been a move towards a more infor mal approach to HR planning and

a move away fnim abstract and mathematical approaches. There fore it would be difficult to define a standardised set of selection pro cedures given the uncertainties and turbulence of today's global busi ness environment. The position of

the firm with regards to competi tiveness in the market is also a vi tal consideration.

In essence there are four ap proaches to staffing polices. An eth nocentric approach involves parent country nationals in key positions

in the organisations foreign subsidi aries. This approach ensures control over operations and the implemen tation of values and working prac tices.

in contrast the polycentric ap proach centres on the recruitment and selection of host-country na tionals to run subsidiaries.The con cept behind this approach is that because Host country nationals have better local knowledge and language skills their appointment to senior positions will be viewed favourably by host-country gov ernments as this is seen as an in vestment in the local community. However this approach has to be adequately balanced if the "us and them" scenario is to be avoided.

The geocentric approach how ever,focuses on the selection of the best people for the job regardless of merits of any of the above. Theresuit will invariably be a more inter national management team with a truly global outlook. In addition this approach is seen by some as more merit based and as minimis ing divisions and tensions deriving from national origins. However the regiocentric approach goes beyond the single country perspective and focuses on a specific region, e.g. Europe, which enables and facili tates movement throughout the re gion but not between regions. Cul tural sensitivity is maintained at a regional level which could be prob lematic when moving between countries within a designated region.

It is therefore clear that organi sations should focus on the ap-

Michael Anthony Gonzalei, Director, B.E.A. Employment Agency

It would be difficult to define a standardised set of selection procedures given the uncertainties and turbulence of today's global business environment

proach that best fits their needs, re source availability and strategic planning. Not to do so would mean an ad hoc approach to management and decision-making.Endangering their local best-fit capability'.

The use of expatriates may vary from country to country and rea sons for their use may include to fill a post where no local staff are quali fied, to train locals nationals or to transfer technical expertise. How ever it is clear that the need for ex patriate use has to be identified right at the very beginning to avoid unnecessary costs as well as quickly resolving issues such as work per mits, accommodation and family affairs in terms of spouse and chil dren's education requirements.

Selection procedures therefore need to be in line with market and organisational needs. This may in clude the pursuit of globally or regionally integrated product or marketing strategies. Multinational companies can have fairly standard selection criteria and practices, more so when there are distinctive competitive advantages. Further more selection practices have to take account oflanguage skills, par ticularly English, which is widely recognised as the international business language,as well as home language skills(bilingual English / Spanish requirements). This is not the only consideration. Selection and recruitment practices must fully comply with national emplov-

ment laws as well as cultural and social customs.Indeed recruitment and selection practice must retain validity in host country context. Language tests may also suffer from validity problems in terms of culture and social customs,as is the case between English in the UK and the US. Here training will be a de termining factor crucial to success.

It is clear that selection practices significantly differ from country to country ranging form the ethnocen tric to polycentric staffing policies and from organisation to organisa tion.There are inherent advantages and disadvantages for different approaches. The crux of the issue is organisational strategy as well as needs. Employment Laws, social custom ami culture are also deter mining factors in standardising or customising selection practices. As a consequence there is no best prac tice or universalist approach as transposition of selection practices into different cultures will have dif fering results. The kind of HRM needed for the global firm is very different to the polycentric or eth nocentric firm and should reflect more of a geocentric approach. However this will invariably be linked to the local or national em ployment, legal, social and politi cal framework.

BEA Eniploymeiit Af^enc}/,40 Citxf Mill Lnue, Gibraltar. Tel/Fax: 45144

Email: beacmp(a'f^ibteUrom.iu't

Gibraltar Maritime Services Handbook

Introduced by the Hon. Joe Holliday, Minister for Trade, In dustry & Communications and with articles by local experts on everything from the Development of Gibraltar Port to Advantages and Procedure for the Registra tion of a Yacht in Gibraltar, local services are also highlighted in professional profiles of providers and the A-Z index makes location of these easy.

A cross between a port hand book and a guide to local and in ternational maritime legislation, Gibraltar is unique in providing such an information package.

At Norwich and Peterborough, our banking services are designed to suit you.

With the right account, we can help you manage your income, your savings and your investments either face to face or on the internet! Call

The Gibraltar Maritime Serv ices Handbook is written for ma rine professionals — whether on sea or land,the details ofrelevant maritime legislation and regula tion applicable to the use of the port are essential reading. ThelO appendices include Merchant Shipping Ordinances & Regula tions; Import/Export Regula tions;Documents,Requirements, Survey, Audit, Certification; and Gibraltar Bunkering Code of Practice.

Handbooks are sent to Interna tional Sea-Trade exhibitions and quickly disappear due to the in tense interest they arouse. InJune 2006 the handbook will feature at the Poudonia exhibition in Ath ens.

Gibraltar Maritime Services

Handbooks are on sale at bookshops and nexvsa^ents locally or by airmail mailorderfrom GMSH,PO Box 555, Gibraltar. Tel/fax: 79385. Price £15 or £20 airmail.

Fraser, an Australian with wide experience in planning investment strategics as well as in top-level in surance management argues that "education" — "telling it like it re ally is to would be investors and insurance customers" — would pre vent a lot ofdisappointment as well as stop a lot of investors' fingers being burnt.

"People,not only in Gibraltar but elsewhere too, need to understand that when the bank rate is say four per cent or Government bonds are yielding, say, only three per cent, promises of returns of 16 or 20 per cent on investment carry a commen surate load of risk," Fraser points out."We as an industry need to be completely honest with our clients — after all, we want them to stay as clients for the long run, not just as a one-off sale — and equally, they need to be honest with us.

"How can I advise a client about his best course of investment if he or she doesn't give me a true pic ture of assets and income. It be comes guesswork and that's not what financial planning should be about. It certainly is not part of our group's policy."

While,the damaging image of the brash and grasping insurance sales man generated by the mis-selling scandals of a decade or more ago has largely been exploded — par ticularly in the areas of pensions and life cover — the need for "after sales service" is increasingly recog nised by insurers and their agents as vitally important, Fraser adds.

And this could change the present pattern of rewards within the industry — with an annual'fee' paid by the client, rather than the current system of commissions and

renewals paid by the insurers,some analysts believe.

As governments find it harder to fund state aid for the steadily grow ing sectors of populations with ever-stretching longevity, the need for people to take responsibility for their own future retirement is more and more apparent. And in recent years several Western leaders have stressed that people will have to learn to look after their own futures, warning that because populations are living longer the state will not be able to afford to keep them... or certainly not at the levels of com fort and care that most have come to expect.

And many experts argue that in surers will not only have to struc ture pensions which will plug the gap which governments cannot but will have to advise the elderly-ofthe-future how best to plan their fi nances for retirement. This is stressed by both Fraser and Peter Jones the founder of the Yorkshire

Insurance Group (YIG), the two men behind the establishment of the European Financial Planning Group earlier this year.

Jones holds49 per cent of the new Gibraltar company, and Fraser, its CEO and major shareholder, both subscribe to a distinctive set of val ues around which one successful independent financial advisory and wealth management company has already been built.

Founded 18 years ago and based in Leeds and Pontefract,Jones'com pany now employs 100staff and has some £500 million of clients' funds under management.

"From the outset our policy has been to provide people with the tools and services to allow them with our help — to look after their own futures, rather than selling them a product and walking away," Jones explains.

Fraser — an accountant by pro fession and a former managing di rector of Norwich Union Interna

tional — also shares the view that "a long-term relationship with cus tomers is in everyone's best inter est".

"1 think that many operators have underestimated the potential for growth both in Gibraltar and among the expatriate markets in Spain and Portugal," Fraser told Gibraltar Moj^azine. "Though there are advisers and operators on the Costas, it seemed to us that no-one was serving their financial needs in the sense of providing long-term fi nancial planning to whatis a strong and growing customer base.

EFPG not only acquired local in surance expert Ian Prescott's Prescott Ltd's life insurance portfo lio for an undisclosed sum but also bought the "salvageable" compo nents of Savignon Financial Serv ices. With some 6,000 customers,the combined portfolios gave the new comer an immediate substantial stake in this part of the insurance market.

experienced investerfunds

On 5th August 2005 the Gov ernment of Gibraltar issued the Financial Services (Experienced Investor Funds) Regulations, 2005 made under Section 52 ofthe Financial Services(Collective In vestment Schemes) Ordinance, 2005.

The recent reform in Gibraltar fund legislation allows for the es

tablishment of experienced inves tor funds.These are funds designed for professional, high net worth or experienced investors (for details on the definition of an experienced investor and on the establishment of setting up such funds see the Fi nancial Services (Experienced In vestor Funds)Regulations, 2005. Experienced Investor Fund noti

fication forms are issued by the Investment Services Division upon request. In order to ensure that there are no delays in estab lishing the company please ad vise the Investments Division that an Experienced Investor Fund is being registered with,for example, approvals for Compa nies House.

A lack of understanding of why the value of investments can move both up and down and expectations — often fostered by unscrupulous "advisors" — that large returns can be expected with very little risk involved needs to be countered by Government,the Regulator and Gibraltar's financial services and insurance industry, says European Financial Planning Group CEO,Tom Eraser.

Ensanng a financiallysecure retirement requires careful financial planning and sound advice

"We as an industry need to be completely honestwith our clients—after all, we wantthem to stay as clients for the long run,notjust as a one-off sale"

european financial planning GROUP

Financial Planning

- from a local company with big backup

European Financial Planning Group are a Gibraltar company, registered with the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission. We are partly owned by Yorkshire Investment Group - the largest privately owned investment group in the north of England with over £500m under management. YIG are market leaders in wealth management and employee benefits and work to the highest UK compliance standards. EFPG work to the same exacting standard by adopting their methods and technology with adaptations to reflect the differing tax and legal systems applicable to our geographical area.

Our experienced team of locally based financial advisers can help with all aspects of your financial planning whether you are established here or moving to the area, including:

• pensions • investments • life insurance • mortgages

We are already taking care of around 6,000 clients on the Rock and throughout southern Spain and would be delighted if you chose to join them.

Call us for an appointment or further information on our company and our services.

European Financial Planning Group Limited

PO Box 32, Suites 3A & 3B, 1 Corral Road, Gibraltar

Tel: +3504 9750 Fax: +35049290 info@efpg.net

Airthorised by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, Licence Number FSC 00812B

Maritime Services in Gibraltar

Maritime Legislation in Gibraltar

Doing Business in Gibraltar

A-Z Index of Maritime £r Ancillary Services

On sale at Bookshops & Newsagents in Gibraltar at £15.00 sterling (€25.00).

Airmail order service at £25.00 sterling (€35.00) from GMSH, PO Box 555, Gibraltar. Please make cheques payable to

"The Gibraltar Maritime Services Handbook".

I::K for LESS...

A lot of money with minimal outlay can be madeif you or your company are not Gibraltar-resi dent.

'It's not a get-rich-quick scheme Mike Fitzgerald told mc, 'but with a committed long-term application there is a lot of earn ing potential. Some of our affili ates, both corporations and indi viduals,are making up to £20,(X)0 a month,depending on their ex perience and input.

Mike and his partner Graham Hampson were telling me about their three-year-old internet business which they started in StiKkport,Greater Manchester in 21101 and which they have moved to Gibraltar's friendlier offshore tax regime due to theen terprise's phenomenal success.

So, what is it? 'It's your ownfully-automated dating agency,' explained Graham,'all you need is a website and some advertising to bring the custom ers to it.'

That's all? 'Yes,' Mike con firmed, 'the whole system is autt>matic and managed by us. You dim't have any contact with the customers nor do you have to collect any money. Simply gen erate the customer interest and we pay out half of the income.

Although the idea has been copied in other parts of the world, it was Mike and Graham who came up with the original concept and then set about de signing the software to make it all work with minimal interven tion. The two had be come friends while doing business de grees at Manchester Metropoli tan University.'We weren't what you would call computer literate, but after a spell in the world of work we both felt we wanted to do something really worth while.' By chance, they read a report on e-commerce which pre dicted that computer dating was one of the big future markets and decided to see if they could make it work.

How much does it cost to be come an affiliate? Presumably something so potentially valu able must come at a premium?

But no;'There is no charge at all. You just ask to become an affili ate and we set vou up. There are no monthly targets to meet either; if you make money, fine, but if you don't do anything af ter you've registered then someone else will.'

You do need to promote the service by advertising on the internet or in the press, although .spam and other unethical meth ods are not allowed.People who

respond to your adverts do not have to pay anything initially (which makes it more attractive), but can look at the lists of over one million members, divided into categories such asChristian,Disa bled, Forces, Cay, Lesbian, Ro mance, Age Groups and so on. 'This gives a better conversion rate,' said Mike, 'as people can narrow their choices down and feel more confident about finding a suitable date.'

It is only when the customer decides there is someone he or she would like to contact that they sign up, and it's not expensive. They pay a monthly registration or membership fee according to their status and category,starting at about £10 for disabled or un employed and rising to around £30 for top professionals, half of which is automatically paid to the affiliate. The affiliate does not have to attend the business in any way,except to advertise,and pay ments are made automatically to their bank account in their coun try of residence. A reminder here: because of Dating Central's non resident tax status, they cannot take on companies or dividuals who arc resident in Gibraltar ex cept for other tax-exempt compa nies. But otherwise, everyone is welcome and they won't have to pay any sort of fee or commit themselves in any way tt> joinup. Dating Central will also provide useful tips on how to promote the business under your own chosen website domain name. At present there are about 6,000 affiliates, of whom just 300 are active, work ing easily from home or as a bolton to their existing businesses.

If you have a non-Gibraltar internet connection and bank ac count, you could be earning any thing from a good part-time wage up to a very high full-time income simply by placing adverts and spreading the message.And there is the bonus of knowing you'd be making a lot of other people happy.

Full information can be obtained from the website, www.datingcentral.com, email: affiliates^ datinii-centrat.com,or by phone/fax to Gibraltar 40335 between 9 and 3, Monday to Friday.

Jon and Jackie Baitson opened the Gibraltar branch of the UK par ent company VI Price Ink Car tridges in City Mill Lane at the end of August, and have already be come very popular due to the price and quality of their refills and re placement cartridges.

The UK company started up three years ago and now has 20 shops in England,Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland — and now Gi braltar.

Although English by birth, both Jon and Jackie are very much part of Gibraltar: she came here when she was four and has spent the rest of her life on the Rock, whilst Jon spent nine years in the Royal Elec trical and Mechanical Engineers followed by 13 years with the Royal Gibraltar Regiment. He left the army in August and has been set ting up the business since then, in cluding a three-week training course in Bristol.

Are the refills and cartridges ex actly half-price, I wondered? Jon explained that that is the general rule.'Obviously it depends on a lot of factors, people making special offers, for instance,' said Jon, 'but all in all it is correct to say refills are generally half-price.'

To be more specific he looked up a couple of models at random and read off the prices:'HP78 has a rec ommended retail price of £29.95, we charge £15 for a refill;' he said, 'and the HP56,normally £19.99, we do a refill for £9,99.'

I asked if they could do laser and ink refills or new cartridges for every printer. '99'!0 of them are refiilable, or as in the Epson range, compatibles are in stock,' Jon re plied.'But new models only take a week or so to come on-line.'

So, basically, there is a choice be tween a refill and a compatible re placement cartridge.Jackie told me that a refill usually takes about 15 minutes, depending on its condi tion, whereas a new cartridge is, of course, immediate.I asked her how one chose between the two options.

'Refills are the same quality, and

a lot cheaper, but we recommend refilling a cartridge five times. We don't simply refill them, we give the cartridges a good clean out and general service, including cleaning the electrical contacts. We put a V2 Price Ink Cartridges label on them so we can keep track of how many times thev have been refilled.'

After five refills, you buy another cartridge, which can then be further refilled five times itself. Not only that, but each time you have a refill you are given a loyalty card which is stamped on each refill. After five refills, you buy the new cartridge and your next refill is completely free, which is like a further 20% off the price of each refill.

What about the quality? 'Our quality is second to none,every car tridge is tested before we hand it back; that's why we can offer a 100% guarantee!' Jon replied.

Jackie also emphasised:'We have other sidelines too, printing, sta tionery, computer consumables, media and much more;but our spe ciality is refilling Ink & Laser car tridges, with the back-up of our UK head office on the end of the phone for anything out of the ordinary. And they visit us regularly to see that all is well.'

In the short time they have been in business, Jon and Jackie have built up a clientele ranging from young children and parents up to government departments and ma jor internet gaming companies, with many other professionals and companies — large and small — in between. Morrisons, NatWest and the MoD are also showing a lot of interest in the products.

Opened by Minister for Trade and Industry,Joe Holliday,the busi ness has taken root so quickly thanks to word-of-mouth recom mendation.'People do literally rave about the quality and the customer service — we are great believers in both,' Jackie emphasised.

Jon also showed me a novel idea: smart little collection boxes which he hopes to deliver to all schoolsfor old cartridges to be dropped into.

'Our coloured inks are the best available/ said Jackie of V2 Price Ink Cartridges,'and we give each customer a test print,so they can see the quality before they leave/

"People do llteraliy rave aboutthe quality and the customer service— we are great hellevers in both"

'Once they're tull,' he said,'we pick them up and donate a new printer to the school — one every time they fill a box.'

I also learnt that they will collect and deliver orders involving up wards offour cartridges, which can be heavy to carry about.

1/2 Price Ink Cartridges is on the left as you go up Citv Mill Lane,

brightly painted and unmissable,in the former premises of Astra Uni forms. They are open straight through from 9 to 5 Monday to Fri day,and 9 to 2on Saturday.The tel ephone number for prices or anv other enc]uiry is 73123, email infogibl C"'12ink.com, or have a look at the parent company's website, www.12ink.com.

The Gibraltar Financial Services Handbook

The Handbook is an annual guide to financial services on the Rock. It provides for each of the relevant service sec tors, including tax planning, banking corporate vehicles, trustfunds,and investment services,commercial and ship registration. It also includes details of Gibraltar and EU legislation.

Those wishing to set up busi ness in or with Gibraltar will find information on trading, import and export licensing,social insur ance payments,employment and immigration, planning and de velopment, telecommunications and e-commerce.

The 14 legal appendices will, from the 2006 edition,be divided into three sections, these will cover financial services legisla tion, commercial legislation and social legislation. Taxation will be dealt with in a comprehensive

article by accountancy experts.

The Handbook celebrates its 21st anniversary in 2006 when its 20th edition will be on sale next January. Also next year a CD containing the contents of all 20 years' books will be available watch out for press releases and details of the new website on this.

The 2005 Handbook is presently on sale at bookshops in Gibraltar at £15, or buy airmail order from GFSH, PO Box 555, Gibraltar at £25. Tel/Fax: 79385.

GIBRALTAR FINANCIAL SERVICES

Information on the Rock's off-shore advantages in Taxation, Law, Banking, Company & Trust Formation, Insurance, Business, Property and Financial Services. Comprehensive A-Z Index for the visiting professional or businessman and the discerning investor.

Detailed appendices on relevant Gibraltar Government legislation.

240 pages providing a practical guide to doing business and working in Gibraltar.

the GIBRALTARfinancial services andbook

On sale at bookshops and newsagents in Gibraltar at £15.00 (€25.00). Worldwide airmail order service at £25.00 sterling (€35.00) or equivalent from GFSH, PO Box 555, Gibraltar. Please make cheques or money orders payable to "The Gibraltar Financial Services Handbook".

Jon and Jackie Bahson ofthe Gibraltar branch of tha UK parentcompaoY 1/2 ft-ice Ink Cartridiias

Th Burde egulation

In the half century since the Treaty of Rome signed by the original five nations, the plethora of the more ridiculous regulations and directives dreamed up by what became a Brussels' army of bureaucrats has reached proportions that would fill the gag books of half a dozen stand-up comedians. They are part of 80,000 pages detailing the laws of the European Union and, like the fans of the late Ronnie Barker, every EU-watcher has his or her favourite Euridiocy.

of the danger and listed a string of ten directives relating to financial services which the Government has implemented in the past 18 months. And he listed a further eight financial services directives which are required tobe transp<.>sed by the end of March next year.

"The Commission's role in im plementing directives is, and should be, one of advice," Killick explains. "It is a Government mat ter as to how it wishes to act in re spect of the various directives; but to fulfil its statutory duty in this regard,the FSC tracks the develop ment of all relevant EU legislation and advises the Government ac cordingly.

EU ngulatioa may spell the end ofrevealing bloases in the beer garden

We all remember the regulation which stipulated that the Commu nity's tarmers could market only "straight" cucumbers.. and the ruling that laid down the length of broom handles and their bristles which could be used in abattoirs... or, more recently, the proposed measures which were intended to regulate the size of coffee packag ing and those limiting the weekend working hours of truck drivers in the 25 EU countries...

And, of course, there was the Optical Radiation/Sunshine Direc tive which for many Europeans has made a laughing-stock of the Eu ropean Union's bulky bureaucracy as well as drawing howls of rage from Munich's Mayor, who saw it as a direct threat to cover up the re nowned cleavages of that citv's bar maids.

In fact, the measure was intended to create EU-wide rules governing the exposure of employees to can cer-causing sun rays, which - its proponents argued quite sensiblycould be a serious workplace haz ard. But its opponents dubbed it the "tan ban" and said it would force

Bavarian barmaids to wear less re vealing blouses... and prevent Brit ish construction workers from stripping off their shirts on swelter ing summer days.

"This is European lawmaking at its most pedantic," fumed Munich's mayor, Christian Ude."A waitress is no longer allowed to wander around a beer garden with a plung ing neckline. I would not want to enter a beer garden under these conditions."

This is the ridiculous side of the Brussels coin, yet the reality is that in the European Union's drive to "harmonise" almost everything,its 25 member states, their businesses and those they employ are becom ing over-regulated. It's a fiequentlv aired plaint of Gibraltar's financial services sector, where a raft of regu lations in recent years has pushed

up operating costs to levels that threaten the future of smaller pro fessional firms and have forced the merger of others.

And it has hit the mega-players too. As Peter Horell, the Barclays Bank director in charge of interna tional corporate banking, told me during a recent visit to Gibraltar: "The cost of regulation has had a huge Impact on banks as well as other financial institutions. What it boils down to is that the more it [regulation] costs, the less we can invest in developing new products and improvements to customer service."

The threat that such over-regu lation poses to economies such as Gibraltar's was pointed to by Fi nancial Services Commissioner Marcus Killick in a recent address to local bankers when he warned

"We also advise on deadlines and what we consider the risks would be if legislation were not imple mented. Where so requested, the Commission also provides com ments on the proposed action by Government to transpose the EU obligations into Gibraltar law as well as where we feel priority should lie."

In this context the FSC meets regularly with Britain's financial watchdog the FSA, to ensure it is up to speed on the workings of the groups such as the Committee for European Securities Regulation (CESR) which — as the so called "third tier" under the Lamfalussy process — are responsible for the development of regulations under the various directives.

"The FSA sits on these commit tees. We do not," Killick tells me. "So it is important that we meet... not only to see what is happening, but also put our views on these regulatory developments."

"Hopefully this will be the last year where such a volume of trans position will be required," Killick told the bankers. "Whilst some fur ther directives are due for transpo sition in future years, we welcome the approach taken in the recent EU Green Paper on Financial Service Policy 2005/2010 and its focus on consolidation..."

Though the introduction of so ' many directives under the initial Financial Service Action Plan "has

a raft of regulations in recent years has pushed up operating costs to levels that threaten the future of smaller professloualfirms and have forced the merger of others

significantly enhanced the Single European Market — and the eco nomic benefits of the integration they have enabled is beyond doubt "the tendency ofsome jurisdictions to 'gold plate' certain directives "has distorted markets and in creased business costs," Killick says."So it is good news that focus is being placed on ensuring that EU regulators adopt similar ap proaches to similar issues."

While he welcomed the recent announcement bv Jose Manuel Barroso, the Portuguese President of the European Commission, who plans to scrap 70 or so "inane laws or proposals" and fatuous or re dundant EU directives — which has been described as "the bonfire of the inanities" — it remains to be seen whether this public statement was turned into action.

"Lot us hope that they are good to their commitment," Killick told me."Perhaps thev should heed the words of the poet Kastner who said that'Nothing

he added.

But red tape and regulations are the life-blood of bureaucracv and the vast Brussels army of pen-push ing jobsworths need constant trans fusion, so that, in spite of Barroso's assurances, many Euro-watchers doubts that the cuts will be any thing more than cosmetic.

Following the EC president's promise, the Commission has an nounced a list of 68 legislative pro posals which it plans to withdraw or amend; however, 183 proposals were reviewed so more than 100 have survived unscathed, which

shows how limited the proposals really are.

"Barroso also promises to cull the 80,000-page law book of the Euro pean Union to a more modest 50,000; somehow I don't believe him," John Blundell, director gen eral of the UK's Insfifute of Eco nomic Affairs, wrote recently. And, in fact, the EDC president's claims sound like a reversal of the core as sumptions upon which the Euro pean Commission operates.

Europhiles take as axiomatic that all regulations imposed across na tional boundaries create a conform ity which enhances the liberalisa tion of trade. Experience proves the fallacy of this view, but it justifies and legitimises the thousands of Brussels jobs working out these rules and trying to make sure they are enforced, as well as those of us who are among the hundreds of thousands busy complying with them.

"Although the commission's proposals to reduce EU regulation are welcome as a sentiment this is not the 'bonfire of red tape' sug gested bv theDepartment of Trade and Industry and Downing Street's overly enthusiastic press offices," Blundell added. "What is at work is the need to attribute some suc cess to the otherwise empty presi dency of the EU by the UK. Brus sels is simply not in the business of liberalising markets, Its business is uniformity and compliance."

"Accortfiny lo the BBC,this year the Convnission has actually ivithdraivn feu'er directives than the 108 propos als scrapped last year.

does any good unless you do it',"

Data Protection Act you ready:3

'In brief/ said Peter de la Rosa of Micro Business Systems(MBS), 'every business and organisation, no matter how small, will be obliged to appoint an officer in charge of Data Protection, and to be registered as such with the gov ernment'.

So, what is Data Protection about? It seems that under the new law, any individual will have the right to know and see what infor mation is being held on them by any company or organisation. Pe ter told me that the organisation has to keep such records up-to-date and they must be available quickly to the individual who wants to see the information being held, whether paper-based or stored electronically.

MBS made a name for itself when Peter introduced microfilm ing of documents to Gibraltar in 1989,since when he has continued to add services for the business community here. I had called in to see him in connection with his re cent move to brighter, better premises at New Harbours.

The MBS Bureau Services Cen tre is providing all of the services as before, but will have the added benefit of a dedicated showroom for the display of the latest records managementequipment,and tech nology for demonstrations includ ing digital scanning solutions,col our coded filing systems, records management software and mailing inserters.

Records Management is a major part of the business,something that will be of benefit tea lot of compa nies once the Data Protection Act is implemented.'As providers of records management services,sys tems and solutions, this includes archive storage management,bulk digital document scanning, and microfilming of documents,' Peter explained.'And, very importantly, we carry out data conversion — the transfer of documents' computer formats as technology advances and makes older formats obsolete and the documents unreadable.'

I learned that Records Manage-

men Business Systems Operations Afsiiaoer John Drury ment Systems will help companies to implement a proper strategy for managing their records — whether on paper or on disk — and allow them to adopt suitable document retention policies, customised to suit the nature of the business and of the records themselves.

Peter gave me a practical exam ple — patient records, whether in the health service or a private clinic: 'Patient records tend to be retained on paper, usually stored into pocket folders or files, which have to last for the life of the pa tient — say afflund 80 years,' said Peter.'But paper doesn't last very well, so you need to know what options are available so that you can comply with the retention re quirements of the law, and always be able to retrieve the information quickly as and when required. In this respect, people often aren't

aware of the dangers of technologi cal obsolescence,'

As an example, he cited the old 5.25 inch floppy disks which are now unobtainable and also un readable — no modern computer has a drive for them; and sooner or later, the 3.5 diskettes as we know them today will also become obsolete.

He told me that with the rapid strides being taken by technology, no one really knows if today's CDs will be readable in 5 or 10 years, let alone 25 or 50 years.

'If you don't allow for this sort of obsolescence when considering long-term data retention require ments, you could be leaving your self open to unquantifiable costs and risks in the future. In the USA, crucial data that was kept for years on 5.25 floppies couldn't be re trieved a few years later,' he told

So, what's the answer?'For longterm retention, Microfilm is the only tried and tested storage me dium proved to last for 100 years — so far — and is not subject to the dangers of technological obsoles cence,' he replied. 'It's eye-readable, it's just a negative — you can hold it up to the light and see what's on it. It is an analogue for mat that can easily be converted to a digital format today and at any time in the future.'

The bulk of MBS's work is scan ning and digital conversion, usu ally of high volumes- hundreds of thousands up to millions of pages, providing on-line, instant retrieval of documents and records to your desktop. Finance Centre compa nies, clinics, government and the MoD departments are the main customers for this sort of service. Secure data storage is also a sought-after part of the MBS serv ice, and even comparatively sim ple paper-based svstems such as colour-coded files and/or barcoded folders(in use at the Primary Care Centre and now at St Bernard's Hospital), which simply allow any file to be located very quickly, and even eliminates the possibility of misfiling.

In all of the solutions offered, MBScan cither do the work for you or supply the equipment and train ing for you to do it yourself, and advise on adopting suitable records' retention policies and strategies. Last year,the company obtained accreditation for both ISO 9001 and the more specific ISO7797 standard, which is for the manage ment of secure information and data systems,. MBS is the first Gi braltar company to acquire ISO 7797.

For any enquiry on the range of professional Records Management services and solutions, call Peter de la Rosa or John Drury at MBS on 42723, fax 40612 or email info6'"'mbs.gi

; !

A new EL) directive that affects every business and organisation is just waiting for the Gibraltar Government to complete the final stages of drafting.

"If you don't allow for obsolescence when consider ing long-term data retention rennirements,yon conid be leaving yonrselt open to nnqnantitiabie costs"

Due to the enormous success experienced by Wemploy Recruitment Specialists over the past 4 years in Spain and Gibraltar. Wemploy are proud to announce the launch of their new Wemploy office in Gibraltar.

Wemploy Gibraltar has been launched to build on the success experienced by Wemploy Recruitment Specialists over the last 4 years of recruiting in Spain and Gibraltar. Over this time Wemploy has arguably developed a reputation as the leading international recruitment consultancy.

By opening our Gibraltar office our aim is to be in the position where we can build on our success and reputation and offer a

recruitment service tailored to the specific business needs of the Gibraltarian community.

Weinploy Recruitment Specialists aims at all times to provide a top-class service to those seeking employment opportunities and to organisations looking to recruit quality employees. Our multi-skilled, multi-lingual team of consultants have many years of industry and recruitment experience to call upon.

We firmly believe that it is extremely important to find and place the right individual for each position. We ensure this is done to the highest level of service, saving you both valuable time and expense.

Is your businessturning away customersP

"I am not my chair, but the chair is part of me: don't just focus on my disability, because I have one disability but many abilities," — this way Eric Rowbottom,the congenial 42year old musician and GIbtelecom assistant customer services manager who has been rocking Gibraltar with the Adrian Pisarello band for five years, describes the symbiosis with his agile,flashy orange wheelchair and the daily challenges it poses.

"You see? I ran two London marathons on a chair. Have you ever run any?" he defies me. "I didn't do it to prove anything to anyone, but because I enjoyed it."

He confesses it hasn't always been easy for him, though: it took years for him to come to terms with his wheelchair.

When he was a teenager he had no role model and now he would feel very honoured if some disa bled youngster looked up to him as the person who has not been afraid to realise his full potential.

"My tattoo says it all about mc," he adds, proudly showing off his tribal tattoo, a powerful entwinement of two curly abstract motifs representing a person and a wheel chair.

"My daughter, the tattooist and I designed it together. I have it on my arm to remind myself and oth ers who I am."

Eric doesn't ask for what he calls 'positive discrimination' — that,he believes, is as wrong as any other discrimination — but he admits there's still a lot to do in Gibraltar to improve accessibility.

"1 don't think of myself as handi capped, it's the environment that often makes me feel so," he says.

People think that disabled peo ple are only those forever wheel chair-bound, but up to one third of the world's population gets tempo rarily disabled during the course of their lives, whether because they break a limb, or are blind, or grow old, and businesses have to tackle this issue to stay competitive to this large minority of the market, oth erwise they will just lose custom ers, as has happened to one high street retailer that Eric, like many others,cannot shop at because it is located at the top of a flight of stairs.

"Yes, 1 could have my wife browse for me and show me her pick, but I don't want to choose

only from the limited pre-selection she narrowed down, according to herassessmentof my taste. I want to be able to look around and try everything on," he says, not with out a sprinkle of fashion vanity.

Although he doesn't expect the impossible:steps cannot always be smoothed off, lifts cannot be in stalled everywhere, after all, "this is not a sort of Utopia where eve rything is possible for everyone!"

On die other hand,Gibraltar has in the past ten years or so come a

long way in that respect,and many areas have been made more acces sible, like the John Mackintosh li brary and theatre and several gov ernment offices (alas, not all!).

"I expect at least public places to be accessible to every single citi zen," Eric wishes, "and there should be a pro-active rather than reactive approach to architecture".

Gibraltar for its size compares well to other cities: "One pictures London to be perfect under that profile — on the contrary,there are

still many no-nos for a wheelchair user there.

"My daughter is now studying in Canterbury, where they seem more aware of disability;they have a different attitude to it."

Eric has words of praise for the new buses that eventually have al lowed him — and not only him the'luxury' of travelling by public transport.

A good point if we consider that Gibraltar doesn't feature enough convenient disabled parking bays at the many traffic hotspots, and if there are, they are often already taken!

And what about his concerts? Eric's passion for music is so largerthan-life that he always finds a way to get on stage:"Big stages usually have a ramp to carry up heavy equipment."

Difficulties come when the clubs he plays at have tiny toilet cubicles: "I'd better watch my drinks when 1 play there, so I don't have to go!"

This raises the issue of proper toilets for disabled around the town centre:there are indeed some, but they are often closed after 7pm!

Which means if Eric is planning to dine out, he's got to make sure the restaurant is equipped for him: "I don't like talking about toilets, but they are one of the main barri ers we have to face daily."

Another riddle for all kinds of 'vertically impaired' people is the public payphone — in this era of mobiles,just a relic of a distant past when kids had to hop to slot in the coin — that's why Eric made the most of his fifteen-year long career at Gibtelecom and helped having them installed at an ergonomic level.

businesses haue to tackle this Issue te stay cempetltlve to this large minority of the market

Financing a Second Home

In an initiative which should have a wide appeal to Gibraltarians looking for homes across the border as well as expatriates who want to buy Spanish properties or who may wish to borrow against properties which they already own, Batix International the independent financial advisers who have opened a series of offices on the Costas since the beginning of the year — is offering a wide range of mortgage services.

ing one of the Costas' many golf courses, Banx can help."

The complexities of buying a property in Spain have been de scribed as "attempting to walk blindfold though a minefield to which unexpected man-traps and pitfalls have been added." And the system certainly seems more con voluted than in Britain or on the Rock — involving lawyers,notaries and (often) a raft ofbureaucrals... there are searches for deeds and documents...

Indeed without expert assistance the process can become a dispro portionate nightmare.

com/home in Spain is a reafity for many Gibraltar rasidaats

"There is a growing demand for buyer..."

mortgages... and expert financial guidance in helping find them and in choosing the most suitable for each individual client," says Javier Llamas, Banx International's mort gage expert."As many Britons and Scandinavians have found to their cost,Spain's home-ownership laws and legal requirements relating to the sale of land and buildings are very different from those with which they are familiar. And Por tugal's property market can be similarly beset with pitfalls for the

His firm has arranged to offer cli ents — both expatriates and Gibraltarians wishing to buy in Spain — what has been described as "the perfect mortgage... for the perfect property overseas".

Through a range of mortgage lenders, which include Barclays' RBS/NatWest and Jyske in Gibral tar, and Caixa, Santander Central Hispano and Caja Duero in Spain, typical mortgage options which Banx can offer include loans made in euros or sterling; interest only or

repayment mortgages; finance for off-plan purchases; revolving credit mortgages; remortgages to release equity;and even mortgages for selfbuild homes.

"Whatever your reasons for buy ing and no matter where you want to buy, the complexities of arrang ing the purchase and accompany ing mortgage can be daunting" says Paul Barnett, Banx's co- founder and senior director. "Whether someone is seeking a retirement apartment on the coast, a spacious family villa, or a property overlook-

But by arranging a mortgage through Banx International much of the hassle can be avoided. Lla mas claims. The financial advisory group is managed — and staffed by experts who not only under stand the nuances of expatriates' needs but have hands-on experi ence of the Iberian property mar kets, he points out.

Barnett was not only a guiding force behind the establishment of the Royal Bank of Scotland's suc cessful 'Real Mortgage' scheme designed specifically to meet the home-buying needs of expatriates in Spain — but later headed Abbey National's property operations in Gibraltar, Spain, Dubai and Hong Kong. He and the team he leads know Spain's property minefield like the backs of their hands.

Royal Bank of Scotland international Investor Solutions

In the past 18 months closer

links forged between Gibral tar's Royal Bank of Scotland International and the RBS parent group have opened doors to a wider than ever range of products which it can offer to corporate cli ents. And,at the same time, it has meant that the bank can draw on global expertise to offer corporate clients made-to-measure solu tions to individual investment problems.

This was underlined in a series of talks and seminars run by the bank in October under the ban ner of "RBSI Investor Solutions" with the focus on the liquidity

needs of corporate clients and their customers.

Corporate and commercial insti tutions as well as intermediaries attended the talks given by a spec trum of experts.

"The world-wide capabilities which RBS has as a bank are huge — and we in Gibraltar have access to them — but we could not show everything we can offer in a single seminar," says Marvin Cartwright, RBS Gibraltar's head of corporate and financial institutions."Clearly, liquidity means most to most ofour clients and the seminars gave us the chance to highlight this aspect of the market and to show that we

not only have great local expertise but that we can also tap into the knowledge of the whole RBS group."

Cartwright argues that as well as some of its unique products, there are areas in providing corporate solutions which "only we can of fer... as opposed to the private banks."

As well as Nicholas Gordon,sen ior treasury manager with RBS in Gibraltar,other experts at the semi nars included Mike Bellotti, who has an extensive knowledge of and is talking on global treasury funds; Shona Hannah of RBS Asset man agement and Nick Hexter from the

bank's London team which deals with structured investor solu tions.

Bellotti provided an overview for corporate clients and insu^ ance managerson how best to use the bank's money market funds, while Hannah discussed the Fund of Funds hedge fund,cou pled with the long-only Fund of Fund, which is the second largest in Britain.

Hexter, who deals with cash rich corporates in London looked at ways to structure solutions to meet the specific needs ofcompa nies or individuals with a "cash pile."

9.

looking to buy a second home?

Buying a home in Spain is becoming increasingly popular.Some people may have discovert the perfect spot for a holiday home which they want to return to year after year.Others have chosen to make the country their permanent place of residence, whilst some may see property purcha.se purely as an investment opportunity.

Whatever your reasons for buying and no matter what kind of property you want to buy,Banx International can help. We will guide you through the coniplexities of buying across the border by offering a comprehensive range of services,speci^^aDy designed to suit your individual needs.

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View • II i-'',k

Fuelled by the growth of finance centre activity over the past mbre recehtty, the advent of major Internet gaming companies — which not only create higher and bette'r-paid employment but have also imported numbers of expatriate executives — Gibraltar's housing ^ market remains buoyant. And though at the top of the property ladder prices are ieveling off and some Investors beiieve that the demand for iuxury homes may already have peaked —the call forbore "affordable" homes, particularly for first-time buyers, continues.

This demand has forced many young GibraUarians—as well as ex patriates who work here but find the Rock's high prices and rents beyond their pockets — to seek accommo dation La Linea or in the lowerpriced Spanish coastal develop ments within'commuting'distance of Gibraltar. A substantial number are buying'off-plan' in anticipation of their needs in a year or two's time,according to Spanish property developers; and, as on the Rock, there is a significant market in offplan purchases as speculative in vestments whose profits will fund a foot on the property rungs.

"If you k>ok around, rentals in La Linea are half the price they are in Gibraltar — often for much more spacious accommodation — and buying a house or apartment also costs less," a Cibraltarian who moved across the border with his family a year ago explains. Property agents confirm this.

Government promises to reverse this trend — at least in part — bv providing a buffer of lower-cost homes as well as adding to its own rental stock have still to take effect. The first units in Waterport Terraces - the complex of nearly 400 homes and 140 rental flats for senior citi zens on the Bay front beyond the bus park,(for which applications closed at the end of September)— will not become available until January the year after next.The second and third phases will be completed later in the same year.

It is the first Government-backed

residential development aimed at those with moderate incomes for some time and there were almost three times as many applications for the "reasonably priced" homes as the 396 units available. Depending on their incomes, purchasers will be able to buy outright or to buy 50 per cent of the property in co-ownership with Government, and there are tough conditions governing resale to prevent "profiteering." Applicants had to be Gibraltarian, have lived here for a long time or have strong Gibraltar connections.

And in a fu rther move to meet the demand for affordable housing, in October the Government an nounced plans for another 900 homes which are to be built in con junction with OEM International and should be available in Septem ber the vear after next and in March 2008 — a long way down the line in anyone's terms. Situated at Rosia Bay,in Cumberland Road and North Gorge they will be "slightly more expensive" than apartments in the Waterport Terraces project.

As well as the Government's at tempt to provide low cost housing at least 200 more "affordable" homes should become available when — and if — the £300-millon Catalan Bay development is com pleted. Some of these are expected

to bo in the lower-cost bracket part of the Government's stipulation in relation to the deal.

Work also eventually began a year ago on projects valued at almost £70 million which by the early half of 2007, will transform a section of Gi braltar's Marina Bay into a million aire's waterfront "playground" of luxury high-rise apartments,restau rants and designer-label boutiques set in landscaped gardens and wa ter features.

Between them Taylor Woodrow's three-tower "Tradewinds" complex and developer Greg Butcher's adja cent "Ocean Village" will provide almost 200 upper-price-bracket flats and penthouses along a stretch of waterfront, part of which is also to be reshaped to accommodate some of the world's biggest super-yachts. With other Tavlor Woodrow devel opments which are in the pipeline or nearing completion the Tradewinds project will boost the builder's current commitment to building work valued at more than £50 million.

And though this sum pales by comparison with the £300 million Catalan Bay development, it is cur rently the biggest private sector commitment and anticipates that the Rock's burgeoning demand for housing will continue.Over the past

five years this has pushed up the price of residential properties by an average of 150 per cent.

In a process that has already started, over the next few years a large stock of land — including resi dential units and sites for develop ment — will be being handed back to Gibraltar by the MoD.

Previous land returned to Gov ernment in the Old Town and then released for private sector develop ment has encouraged imaginative projects, particularly bv Sharrock Shand whose Town Range project has proved both a commercial and architectural success. Gavin Sharrock's proposal to transform the derelict Montarik Hotel into units suitable as pieds-a-terre for Gibraltar businessmen whose main homesare in Spain is temporarily on the back burner,1 understand,as exploratory talks continue between Barclays (whose.Main Street premises adjoin the Sharrock site), and the builders.

Stressing that "supply will in crease significantly in the foresee able future," a leading local estate agent told Gibraltar Ma^^azine that "the million dollar question is whether increases in demand will outstrip the relatively major in creases in supply promised by the developers and the Government."

Ask most developers and estate agents the question and the consen sus is that demand will continue and though upper bracket prices level off, Gibraltar property generally will remain a sound market for buyers or investment.

Work will transform a section of Marina Bay info a miliionaire's 'playground'of luxury high-rise apartments,restaurants & designer-lahel houtiques

Local firm Sharrock Shand has recently announced a new development project — Clifftop House.

Sharrock Shand has an enviable reputation amongst developers for their ability to achieve quality on time. Their success almost certainly results from their ability to operate dual roles as both developer and contractor. Director Peter Jackson states "the norm is for a developer to use contractors based in Spain to carry out their projects. Whilst this method achieves cost saving for the developer, the downside for pur chasers has been a perceived lack of quality standards and delayed completions. Almost every devel opment sold recently by our com petitors has been delivered behind schedule, and sometimes the delay can be measured in years rather than months. By using our own construction company we have to tal control over construction hope fully to the benefit of our purchas ers".

Sharrock Shand has been present in Gibraltar since 1983,originally as part of the parent UK construction group, and since 1988 following a management buyout as an inde pendent locally based company run by partners Gavin Sharrock and Peter Jackson. In recent years the construction company has diversi fied into property development. Their first development scheme was South Barracks Mews, an at tractive small estate of eight semi detached houses just off South Bar racks Road, complete with their own private gardens and garages.

Following on from South Barrack Mews they undertook the ambi tious reconstruction and conver sion of the former Barracks and

Officers Quarter in Town Range. Upon vacation of the building by the military,the building had fallen into semi-dereliction. Government offered the building to developers for conservation and redevelop ment,but whilst there was interest, most developers wore put off by the complexity and costs involved in

the work. Sharrock Shand was suc cessful as one of only two bidders for the site. Over the last couple of years the site has been transformed into 12luxurious houses and a suite of offices. It is interesting to note that the majority of the houses are owned or occupied by Gibraltarians who have clearly seen

the benefits of living in town. The office suites have recently been oc cupied by local law firm Triay Stagnetto and Neish. Since the project was completed it has been highly acclaimed and is likely to be sponsored for next years Heritage Award.

The next project currently on the drawing board but due to com mence soon is Clifftop House, a development of 20 apartments and 2 penthouses. The project is due for completion during 2006. As the name suggests the project is located on top of a cliff! It is sited within the Lathbury area on the same road that provides access to the Upper Rock Nature Reserve. It is almost impossible to visualise how impres sive the location is without visiting the site. The views are stunning and there is a clear uninterrupted 360 degree view of the Bay of Gi braltar, the Strait, Africa beyond, the Mediterranean and the Nature Reserve.

Sharrock Shand have carefully designed a building which optimises the unique location by extensive use of glass to maximise the views and to give a feeling of light and space within the apart ments. The team working on the project have stated their clear inten tion of making sure that through use of the best quality components of design, materials and workman ship, the project will set the stand ard for luxury development in Gi braltar. Given their past achieve ments we have no reason to doubt them.

The views are stunning and there is a ciear uninterrupted 360° view of the Bay of Gibraltar, the Strait,Africa heyond....

Price available on application. You are Invited to contact us and make an appointment to view. Tel: 79530

Features of the house Include air conditioning, fitted wardrobes etc. The original pitch pine floors have been retained. Quality bathroom fittings and fully fitted kitchens have been installed.

The spacious property has a living room with a decorative stone fireplace, kitchen / dining room and a study. There are 5 bedrooms, the master bedroom with en suite bathroom.

Each of the upper floors opens out onto extensive balconies overlooking an attractive mews courtyard, communal gymnasium and pool. The property has its own parking space within the courtyard immediately outside the house.

Town House

The property has a floor area of 264m2 and accommodation on three levels.

The house has been comprehensively restored and rebuilt since its past use as an historic military building. Period features have been retained and the building upgraded incorporating features consistent with modern day standards.

The property has been recently completed as part of the highly acclaimed Town Range Development and is ready for immediate occupation.

A fine example of a Georgian townhouse.is on the market for sale direct from the developer in a choice spot in the centre of town close to the Law Courts and the Convent.

On the ground floor there are offices divided into two suites each with separate means of access. A feature staircase leads to the two residential floors above and a delightful roof terrace.

ANGET Wordsworth House for Sale

TOWNI

Home Ownership

The Gibraltar property market is "steady, with prospects for growth reports Jon Lewes.

Ifome ownership in Gibraltar by the end of 1992 had risen to 25%, (having risen from 6% to 15% over tho previous 4 years) under the drive by the then Housing Minis ter IVpe Balachino to bring Gibraltar up to the average of homeownership in Europe of 59%. in the years since then prices have moved ahead in all European countries, especially since 1997, with home ownership in Gibraltar continuing to increase.The housing market in Gibraltar is now consid ered, by a cross-section of market professionals, to be "steady, with prospects for growth"although the market has variations in the differ ent sectors.

The community sector may con tinue to grow from increased homeownership, but it may also find it self affected by the impact of the en dowment mortgage mis-selling concerns — the number of home owners who may find themselves with possibility' of a shortfall when the time comes to pay off their mortgage is not currently possible to calculate as many mortgages were taken out comparatively re cently, over the last ten years,since the arrival on the market of Westside.

Endowment Mortgages

The concept of linking the home-loan to a "withprofits" endowment

policy worked well enough while the premiums were tax-deductible and life company fund-managers returned annually a good perform ance in the stock market, of at least 6% to When the stock-market's strong performance weakened through the mid-Eighties and after, so did the performance, generally, of fund-managers, with some bril liant exceptions.

The homeowners' monthly pre miums continued to flow to the fund-managers to invest, building up into trillions of pounds as a re sult of intensive sales and market ing efforts by the banks, building societies and their agents,the inde pendent financial advisors — but when it became dear that insuffi cient profits were accumulating to pay the contracted amounts,and it became obvious that the policies were not suitable for everyone, the UK Government first began to re act in the late-Eighties to what would come to be known as the endowment mortgage mis-selling scandal.

The life insurance industry was told to set aside reserves and to hold them ready to pay out tens of trillions of pounds in compensation to make up the shortfall to which millions of UK policy-holders.

some nine million, would be ex posed.

The endowment mortgage is considered to be a mis-sold finan cial product if it was not presented in the correct manner to the con sumer,and the homeowner was not only unaware of tho risks of invest ing in the stock-market but actually had no idea that his premiums were going anywhere near the stockmarket, that he was effectively making a risk-investment without knowing it.

Establishing the requirements and the risk profile of the buyer are two of the points in a Governmentissued list of thirty-three items that must now be satisfied to avoid a policy being deemed to have been mis-sold.

Todateseveral million UK policy holders have sued for compensa tion for having been mis-sold and the sums paid in compensation may enable them to avoid losing their home.

Many of the homeowners in Gi braltar started their mortgages when they bought into the new homes at Westsido in the earlyNineties and will have some ten to fifteen years on their mortgage to run — they will be hoping the stock-markets will perform well over the coming years,or

The communltv sector may continue to grow from increased home-ownership viser for advice.

• THE ESSENCE OF AUREUS... CRAFTSMANSHIP, BEAUTY, LONGEVITY

' Aureus is perfectly positioned between Alcaidesa and La Linea and is just a few moments from the sweeping, undiscovered sandy beaches of Torrenueva.

' The apartments have been designed to take in incredible views of the coastline and, in particular, the imposing Rock of Gibraltar and the mountains of north Africa beyond.

Aureus is a luxury development of open-plan studios and two bedroom-two bathroom apartments, designed along a neo-classical theme with decorative columns and ornamental pools.

Communal facilities include swimming pools, a reception area, restaurant, gymnasium, laundry and paddle tennis court.

All of the apartments are sold fully furnished and include hot/cold air conditioning.

MAIN FEATURES

• Fully furnished

• Fully fitted kitchen and bathroom (includes white goods)

• Ceramic flooring

• Hot/cold air conditioning STUDIO

• Generous terraces

• Security gated entrance to devebpment

• Car parking

• Communal gardens

• Swimming pool

Tal ofrom the ".ilia

Peter Schirmer tells of the trials and tribulations of owning a second home in the Spanish countryside

Britain has its "cowboy" plumbers, electricians and jobbing builders — the con[tradesjmen who are the delight of "fly-on-the-wall" and "hidden camera expose" television producers. Some decades ago,their counterparts in Argentina were the dodgy glaziers who made a fortune replacing Buenos Aires shop-front windows with "shatterproof" glass in the wake of regular Friday-night protests and demonstrations. villages.

It is not.

Pace, the carpenter in nearby Cortes from whom 1 have bought wood to build kitchen and bath room fittings, a covered verandah and sturdy pine for a double bedwhich had to be built in situ, as the cottage staircase is too narrow for a double bed to be manouevred up (hence the need to build, rather than buy, one) — speaks Spanish instead of Greek but he is Spiro's mental brother. He even has an identical band-saw, adapted for electricity. The workshop aroma is the same,and there's a sense of dejS vu each time 1 enter.

These took place in the vicinity of the Casa Rosada, the presidential palace, and invariably left a halfmile trail of glistening shards and debris along the nearby city pave ments.(Argentinians are less rebel lious these days — or so I imagine —but old habits diehard,and I im agine that the glaziers are still in stalling inferior glass at superior prices.)

And in South Africa there are the backveld garage mechanics who,at great cost to the stranded motor ist, will effect repairs lasting just long enough to take you a few miles beyond the pointfrom which you might be tempted to return and throw a protesting punch. These are the sort of schlenter Sa maritans who ensure smooth gear shifts with a liberal dollop of por ridge oats in the gear-box....

In Crete — where a disdainful Athenian acquaintance once dis missed all local tradesmen as be ing "too lazy to be dishonest" village carpenters, who usually double as glaziers, fill an equiva lent of the "cowboy" slot. Though they're neither crooked nor lazy, they are infuriatingly unreliable.

ernous workshop whose walls were stacked with cobweb-covered baulks of timber, planks of pine and walnut and "salvaged" ancient doors and window frames. The centre of the concrete floor was dominated by a huge band-saw which dated from the age of steam but had been adapted for electric ity — on whose cast-iron casing a faded colour illustration of "Jesus the Carpenter" cut from a maga zine had been mounted.

This was for "kalos tixis"(good luck), Spiros explained... though, eyeing his father Babis's hands one of which had lost a thumb and the other,twofingers,to the ancient machine— 1 doubted the picture's efficacy.

The floor was swept once a week — on Saturday mornings and re luctantly —by Spiro's teenage son, who would rather have been play ing football with his mates,so that by Friday evening the place was often ankle-deep with shavings and sawdust that filled the air with a satisfying aroma of newly-cut wood,but which was probably also a serious fire hazard.

Spiro Brilakis — who later be came a close friend — typified the breed,operating in a dark and cav ... and

Spiro made doors and windows for the ruined weaving school we were turning into our Cretan home. He came and measured the gaps in the walls where these were to go... wrote down the details on a piece of wrapping paper... then went away,after promising to return and fit them within a week.Seven days passed, then eight, nine...

After a fortnight in the windowless and door-less building, I went to his workshop. The piece of brown paper was tacked above his workbench, but there was no sign of doors, windows or even the frames. He had been pruning his vines on the other side of the island, he explained.He would start on the work the following day. Every thing would be ready next week..

Four weeks later the doors ar rived, beautifully crafted. And a week after that the seven windows — equally well made. Eventually, 1 learned to stand over Spiro while he cut and planed any pieces of wood I needed... and we became friends. But I thought that this pro crastination was a woodworker's trait confined to Cretan mountain

However,instead of a picture of "Jesus the Carpenter" the cast iron casing is where he puts the pieces of paper on which I have written the measurements and quantities I need for whatever job is planned for the following weekend. FOR VIERNES, I write underneath in my limited Spanish. He reads and nods and puts the piece of paper on the handsaw casing.

An on the following Friday evening, it is still there... but there is no sign of the wood... "Manana," he said the first couple of times. And I went back the fol lowing day and it still wasn't cut... so I waited while he finished dis cussing the previous night's tel evised futbol with his friends and he would then cut and plane the wood before calculating the cost and writing it and the price in Euros on one of the pristine pieces. (Spiro did this, too.)

I thought 1 would beat the Pace/ Spiro system by arriving with measurements on a Saturday morning and waiting while he cut it. And, it worked the first time... But last Saturday his workshop was closed and his neighbour who sells "crystal" window panes of varying thicknesses that would have pleased Buenos Aires glaziers — told me Paco had gone to Ubrique.

So I left my list on the workshop door. VIERNES, FOR FAVOR, I wrote... and I though for a moment that I heard Spiro chuckling...

Eventually,I learned to stand over Spire while he cut and planed any pieces of wood i needed

we hecame friends

King's Bastion Leisure Centre Thedemolitionofthe modern

buildings inside the King's Bastion to make way for a leisure centre wascompleted dur ing September.

All structures of historical sig nificance, as advised by the Her itage Trust, were retained.

Demolition work has now moved to the adjacent Generating Station building and the top added floor of the barrack block facing Line Wall Road.This work is due to end on Friday 2nd De

cember. A new temporary road has been provided through the Naval Ground Nol to access Rec lamation Road from Queensway.

The total cost of the demolition is about £1 million.

In the meantime, design work for the leisure centre is at an ad vanced stage and it is expected that construction will commence in the New Year.

Details about the Leisure Cen tre itself will be announced later this Autumn.

The Way Things Used te Be...

As a teenager in the old days, being shy and wanting to get dose to girls wasn't easy. We felt that falling in love and then being dropped for someone else could be a real trauma. It seemed like the heavens would cave in! On reflection though, puppy love was a pleasant and warm experience.

I know summer is over, but have you ever walked along the shore on the beach, exhibiting your comb, casually slipped down the back of vour swimming trunks thinking you're it? That's something, boys who were growing up into, hope fully, fine young men did. We did that to '.strut our stuff. It was one of the few little bits of showing off we used to go for, to make girls think you were "groovy". It never worked. Young girls are much more mature than boys and they probably saw right through us.

Mv teenage years were pretty much the norm 1 suppose. Here in Gib one of the activities was to walk up and down Main Street between seven and nine in the evening (something which is not done anymore). There, we would look out for the prettv girl of our dreams. Each time she passed you by, you made sure she caught sight of you, even if only fleetingly, to say "bye" to her. Let me tell you that if she nodced you and said "bye" back, that thrill lasted you for a week it was so exciting.

E \'e n t u a 11 y looking out for heron the next trip down Main Street again would become ' a sad af- ^ fair, be cause she had decided to go home.

I was a shy bov. In fact shy is not the word. I was so shy 1 couldn't even say my name. One day 1 was walking up Main Street with my 'girlfriend' when a friend of hers stopped to chat. About halfway intt) the conversation she asked me what my name was. Instantly my face heated up as if a 500 watt bulb had been switched on inside my head. I

was boiling and must have gone a crimson red. 1 just couldn't get the words out. That was a memorable experience I'd rather not recall.

1 think I was about twelve when 1 had that girlfriend. The courtship of sorts lasted about three weeks only. Handsome Louis, a friend so called — pinched her from me. He was much more handsome than 1 was, taller than I was, more charis matic than 1 was, and of course he wasn't shy, far from it. 1 sup pose he got to kiss her too be cause never did

that girl of my dreams. I guess that it was too soon in my relationship, or maybe 1 was just too scared and didn't have the courage to take,'that ever so daring' step. The sad thing about it was, 1 was very hurt. I thought I'd be pining for her for the

rest of my life, or maybe I'd die or something. I remember going home the day she told me it was over and playing Tommy Steele's Km'c Deep In The Bliie^ over and over again. I could feel my heart breaking into a million pieces; you sec 1 loved her so much!

Many years have passed now,and when I see her in the street, I'm so happy Louis finished it for me, I owe him my life! That's not fair I sup pose, because when I look at myself in the mirror, I sometimes think the same thing. "You were such a good looking boy, then young man and then ma ture adult. Look at you now, what happened, why are you so ugly man?" So 1 take back what 1 said about my first pretty, shapely, beautiful young girlfriend. It's simply amazing the physical change we go through. It seems that with humans it's back to front. We go from beautiful butterfly to an ugly distorted, horribly creased, way past 'sell by date' battered cocoon. ThankCod for nostalgia, sometimes you feel it's all you've got.

1 can't re'member whether it was my first kiss, but it was my most pleas ant teenage kiss by far. On this oc casion, 1 think I was 'falling in love' with this other girl. Of course it was love; it couldn't have been any thing else. You see, when walked her home after a tea dance at the DSA Hall, next to the Technical School in Queensway, the stars fell out of the sky. At the end of the evening at the DSA, 1 plucked up the courage to ask her

I remember going home the day she told me it was over and playing Tommy Steele's Knee Deep in The Blues over and over again

if I could walk her home. 1 was a lucky boy — she accepted. All the way home 1 wondered if I should give it a go. "Will she push me away if I try to kiss her goodnight?" Well she didn't, and I remember her soft lips pressing on mine for about four seconds — and that was it. "Good night and I'll see you tomorrow," and I waxed lyrical all the way home. What an experience that was, 1 wonder if it's the same nowadays, as innocent, as lovey dovey. Mavbe it is. 1 am not fourteen and a half anymore,so 1 wouldn't know.

Teenage birthday parties were a great event in the late 50s and early 60s. Girls would usually receivewait for it—a box of four bath cubes worth about one and six in old money. If it was someone special, 1 would pester my mother to give me five shillings to get her the latest sin gle by Paul Anka or Elvis Presley. 1 remember buying Don't Be Cruel for one of my favourite girls. Soft drinks, cakes, and jiving to Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Bill Haley and Elvis took up the early part of the evening. Then came the Platters and the Everly Brothers, and slow danc ing took over for the rest of the time — well almost. For the last hour or so we'd play True, Dare, Kiss or Promise or whatever.The important thing was, it involved kissing in the next room out of sight for a couple of minutes, or longer,if you really liked each other.

Going back to the dances we used to go to, those too were well worth looking forward to. The regular ones were held at the C.S.C.A. club — on the upper tloor of where Cool Blues was housed, next to Ince's Hall. There used to be a late session on Saturday nights and a tea dance on the Sunday between five and eight. Incidentally that's where 1 was introduced to my first 'real drink' — gin and lemon squash a John Collins, which would last the whole evening. Shyness once again rose to the surface when it came to asking a girl to dance. Sometimes there were just fifteen minutes to go to the end of the dance and 'cour age'was nowhere to be found. Go ing home a failure, especially after seeing other boys dancing with your dream girl, was a disaster.

Yes love life for a teenager in the 50s and 60s was full of ups and downs,trials and tribulations, anxi ety and a lot of pain with plenty of histrionics from the so-called hurt and devastated.We thought the world would crumble all around us! Vet it was amazing how all the trauma and cries of, "it's just not fair," fizzled out in a couple of days and you were ready to play with your heart again. It was fun. It was the way it used to be.

What's On November

Fri 11 November

Armistice Day ceremony at House of Assembly 11am. Contact HQBF 53624

Sun 13 November

Remembrance Service at Cross of Sac rifice 12noon. Tel: HQBF 53624

Tues 15 - Thur 17 November

the entrance at Red Sands Road 3pm. There is no fee but donations are welcome. Tel: 72639 /Fax 74022 E-mail: a1ameda@wildiife.gib.gi www.gibraltar.gi/alameda

Sun 20 November

tuylm liiifts»Twrttet MWilii in a community concert with vWbratinv

Until Saturday 5 November

Maritime Exhibition Sentinel of the Mediterranean at Casemates Exhibi tion Gallery. Weekdays 10am-6.30pm, Saturday 10am-2pm. Entrance free. Tel: 48063 or email minculture@gibteiecom.net

Thurs 3 November

Gibraltar Museum talk by Carl Viagas 'Gibraltar the City & the Sea" at John Mackintosh Hall 8.30pm. Entrance free. Tel: 74289

Tues 8 November

The Gibraltar Philharmonic Society The Four Seasons". Violin: Barbara Doll,The European Sinfonietta. Con ductor: Karl Chichon. At The Convent 8.30pm. Sponsored by the Bland Group. Tickets: £15 from Solomom Levy Estate Agent - Convent Place & Sacarello Coffee Shop,Irish Town.For information and credit/debit card pur chase contact Angelo on Tel: 72134

Watercolour painting exhibition by James Foot, John Mackintosh Hall 11am-8pm Tel: 42851. Entrance free.

Mon 14 - Fri 18 November

Gibraltar Photographic Society Photo graphic Exhibition "40th Anniversary"at

John Mackintosh Hall Upper Gallery Mon to Thurs 10am-8pm,Friday 10am3pm. Entrance free.

Wed 16 November

Gibraltar National ChoirThe Year of the Sea Concert" at John Mackintosh Hall Theatre at 8.30pm. Tickets: £20 from House of Sacarello's • Irish Town. Con tact Mrs Olivero 54831000

Tues 15 November

GONHS - Monthly Meeting (Insects and Plants) by Charles Fterez/Keith Bensusan (GONHS Invertebrate Co-ordinator) at John Mackintosh Hall at 8.30pm. Tel: 72639 / 76818. Entrance free.

Fri 18 h Sat 19, Tues 22 November

Allegro Music Production "Gibraltar Fes tival for Young Musicians"at John Mack intosh Hall Theatre 7.30pm. Gala Con cert on Tues 22.Tickets: £5.00 available at John Mackintosh Hall ticket office and entry forms. Tel: 76150

Sat 19 November

GONHS - Monthly Outing La Janda (wintering birds,including cranes)Sam. Contact John LicudiTel: 76244/75537

Gibraltar Botanic Garden Tour. Meeting place - The Nature Shop Cottage near

Gibraltar Heritage Trust Tour: 100Ton Gun and Engineer's Battery led by John Murphy. Meeting place: 100 Ton Gun10.30am. Tel: 42844

Wed 23•Sun 27 November

Gibraltar Bird Breeders Association's 30th Anniversary International Bird Show at John Mackintosh Hall Exhi bition Rooms 10am-9pm. Entrance to vistors free. Tel: 56175000 or email peter@alcomd3ta.com

fliurs 24 November

Gibraltar Museum talk by Geraidine Finlayson "Gibraltar's Hidden Herit age Underwater Archaeology Re veal's' at John Mackintosh Hall 8.30pm. Entrance free. Tel: 74289

Sun 27 November

Caipe Rambles. The meeting place is the Spanish Side ofthe Frontier just to the right of the Aduana Vehicle Exit at Sam. Contact Ray Tel: 71956 or John Tel: 74645

Mon 28 November-Sat 3 December

Gibraltar Drama Week 2005 at Ince's Hall Theatre. Organised by the Min istry of Culture in association with the Gibraltar Amateur Drama Associa tion. Tickets on sale at the Nature Shop(Casemates)asfrom the begin ning of November. Ministry of Cul ture Tel : 48063 or email: minculture@gibtetecom.net

Tues 29 November-Sat 3 December

The Gibraltar Cross Stitch Club An nual Exhibition at Casemates Vault 9.30-8pm. Entrance free

Thespians Celebrate Trafalgar

by Elena Sclaltlel

'A Pennyweight of Glory"

by Frankle Hatton

Take yourself back to October 1805,

What better name than the Trafalgar Theatre Group for a thespian company staging Charles Evans'"A Pennyweight of Glory", a three-act drama set below decks HMS Victory, right after the victorious battle in which Horatio Nelson lost his life, the bicentenary of which was commemorated on 21^' October?

Formerly known as The Dockyard ('layers and established over fitly years ago, recruiting mainly MoD staff,the group evolved in an amal gam of military personnel and local enthusiasts to style-up its name into their present catchier denomination, to stress the indissoluble link British Forces on the Rock have with the most famous cape of the Cadi/ coast.

Nevertheless, the TTG constitution states that the chairman must alwavs be a senior officer in fact the current one is Surg.Commander Alan Bowie,vice-chaired by actor, director and group PR Margaret Seed.

The group is very active on the Gibraltar scene, with several productions staged every year, like the January pantomime, the entry for the Royal Navy Drama Festival in April, a mid summer event and a charity concert in Decem ber.

The pantomime,a British Christmas tradition, takes a poetic licence in Gibraltar by moving back one month in order not to clash with the many other shows and charity initiatives Gibraltarians are usually 'bombarded' with in the run-up to the festive season, and instead at tract the younger public's full attention in a pe riod of'aftermath', when little is on offer for fam ily entertainment.

That's why cast and directors don't spare a sprinkle of pixie dust to make their audienceinteractive pantomime as literally fabulous as possible, with splendid costumes, fantastic sets and all-round performers,from the indispensa ble comic relief of the Dame, to the chorus and the more lyrical characters.

The 2005entry to the Royal Navy Drama Fes tival saw the directorial debut of Wendy Reynolds with the Trafalgar Theatre Group, who staged an ambitious project, the theatrical ad aptation of the popular novel Pride and Preju dice, which required a large set, split into mini-

sets, decorated as the two rooms the action was unfolding in, act after act,successively lit by the spotlights, in order to avoid time-consuming and disRipting set changes without taking any thing from the artistic accuracy of period furni ture reconstruction.

Pride and Prejudice scooped many prizes and was overall runner-up in the festival.

The TrafalgarTheatre Group is not only about drama, though: they have a well-conducted choir that holds rehearsals at the King's Chapel every Tuesday at 7.30 pm. New members are always welcome. Enthusiasm is a much greater requirement than the ability to read music!

This year, the Christmas concert will be held, in aid of SSAFA,on 6"' and 7'^ December at the Garrison Library.

Past events have included musical evenings in the Garrison Library gardens,'Sing-a-longs' to The Sound of Music, an African Evening, Quizzes and short extracts from plays.

Another highlight of the year is the annual Posh Frock Dinner, held in the Garrison Library just before Christmas.

Counting on a selection of core members,like Elery Surrey, make-up artist turned activss for a role that suits her 'virago' image in Pennyweight of Clori/, or chameleonic Christine Thomson, artistic director and voice coach, along co-director jean Penney, or musically gifted Wayne Smith, the association always gives new comers opportunities, perhaps just for a one-off performance.

But chances are that once you step onboard, you'll be for long captivated by the magic of Tra falgar.

The social meetings take place on thesecond Thursdaif ofevery month at the Garrison Library. Anyone interested may join:just shinv up at one of them or telephone Margaret Seed (50355) or Lorna Swift, Garrison Library(77418).

the sea gurgling around you, the sound of cannon and musket crack the air. Wailing and cries of fierce fighting, swords clashing and the stench of blood, sweat and death. The Battle of Trafalgar is already won,just small skirmishes and re pairs to be seen to. A moment's rest for you to ponder. As you do,look below your feet, through the wooden planks and into the dimly lit claustrophobic world under the deck of HMS Victory. See what strange go ings on happen as a story unfolds below, where a bunch of misfits meet around the barrel holding the pickled body of His Lord ship, Horatio Nelson.

If you're not the theatm going type or re strict your yearly visit to pantomimes then I suggest you change your mind.At the end of this month the Trafalgar Theatre Group celebrate the 200"'anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar in their way, with a small pro duction called A Pennyweight of Glory writ ten by Charles Evans.

The play will be staged inside the nave of the King's chapel and rehearsals began more than two months ago.It will be staged in the round if all goes to plan, which means the audience will be on all sides of the ac tors. Unusual but it gives a warmer more intimate feel to the performance.

The cast incl udes French prisoners,a bat tle hardened seaman,and an aristocratic of ficer called Lieutenant Dawes. There's Peglar, a Corporal of Marines whose duty to regulations will remind you of the old adage that 'rules are for the adherence of fools and the guidance of the wise'. Add to them a ship roving whore and a pair of 'loblolly boys'•ship's surgeon's assistants, and you have the ingredients for an enjoy ableevening full of history,human emotion, tragedy, humour and the lash. Empathise as military rule at sea at its cruellest gives way to touching stories ofambition,d reams, passion, booze and an almost inordinate de votion to the body of the greatest Naval Commander of them all.

The play is co-directed by Christine Thomson and Jean Penney. David Green wood plays the Corporal of Marines with Eleri Surrey playing the roving whore and "No!It's not typecasting" she insists. Dylan Vinales and Aaron O'Sullivan play the two young'loblollies'learning about their trade and women, Wayne Smith is the officer of the watch Lieutenant Dawes and some free lance BFBS radio DJ called Frankie Hatton is Ben Hinds the errant seaman. There are a couple of dress rehearsals before but 24''' and 25"' November arc the performance dates.

The Trafalagar Theatre Group cost of Pennyweight of Glory

Janet's100% Achievement

Starters

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Our (Itsli i.s served in a wliilr xrlnc, KBrIi'' ond rream sauce, also aviillnl)lc iis a mail) i-iiiirsi-

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SonccI nlili nil omnicc sauce and ai'C(>nipjini(*d u1lti loasi and buRcr

King Prawns Pil-Pil . £6.95

Peeii-d king (mnviis sen ed in n virfdn ciliv<' oil. Kiirtii- and (iiilli saticc

Spanish Manchego Cheese & Jamdn Pata Negra £7.25

True SiHuitsh fliivours. Munehego elieese and faiiuius Piila Ncgi-a ham

French Onion Soup _ - £3.25

Scned »viili eroiilcns and lopped wiih iiielled elieese

French .Avocado and Smoked Salmon £5.95

S<Ts ed on a base of salad leave.s and divssed in a balsamic vinegar

Tomalo and Mozzarella Salad — _ £4.25

I'lire ami simple, beer lomatne.s seneil wiili KiiITaio Muzzarclla Cheese

Deep fried fela cheese £4.45

Stu'ved wllli a salarl garnish

Gibraltar's

Janet Grant has achieved something unparal leled — a 100% grade in this summer's ITEC international ex aminations (achieved through a Christine Shaw training course), producing a totally faultless paper.

Christine Shaw has been training students in Beauty Therapy and Holistic Therapies for many years. Originally the Christine Shaw Col lege, Bond Street, London was world-reknowned as an interna tional college and when Christine moved to Spain in 1985 she was asked to start training programmes and established these in Marbella in 1988.

Many established Gibraltar fig ures hold Christine Shaw ITEC qualifications... Gillian Wetton at

Eliott Hotel, Peri Martin of Rennaisance, Liz Carr, Marie-Car men Latin, Helen Martinez, Chris Pescud at the Caleta Hotel, and Gerry Searle who recently started Fit4life... all are graduates from Christine's training courses.

The latest graduate,Janet Grant, is no youngster embarking on life with limitless time, she is a very busy mother, committed to busi ness activities here for which she is weli-known.

To give all the time and energy to perfect her studies shows perse verance and hard work. Janet's plans are to study further complementar)' health therapies over the years ahead and we are sure we will be hearing more about her as time goes on.

Congratulations Ju-Jitsu Gibraltar

Congratulations to Bushido Gibraltar Ju-Jitsu Academy who re turned home from the UK in mid-October with a grand total of 21 medals(including five Golds)from the'Annual Bushido Champion ship, Course and Gradings'. What a fantastic achievement.

Contact Board

Penpals (1980-83)

Hernandez?

add your message at www.thegibraltarmagazine.oom

- Lisa/Michelle

I had two magnificent penpals(two sisters 1 recall) who had grown up in Gibraltar. They were around my age (born between 1967-1971). At the time. I lived in California (the city/town is called Piru)and we ex changed letters, pictures and little curios from our respective coun tries, My memory has faded, but would be extremely grateful if any one could assist me in contacting either of these gals. We have a

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Tournedo Rossini £12.95

The Tinesl eiil of llie Tdlel, grilled & ser\i>d on a erouton base,lopped with }>al6 and I'ota Nogra Janiiiii. iii<-n i-overed ivitli a sweel demi-fdas sauee, tills dish is ctxdicd to your liking

Fresh Fillet of Beef £12.50

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Cheese, Cliiisseur, Brandy, Garlic Riiiter

Lord Nelson's Traditional Fish and Chips £8.50

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Liver and Onions £7.95

Pan-rried calves livers sautiVd nitli (Jiiions. red wine & gravy,served vvtlb maslied potatoes

Fillet of Chicken Breast £8.95

Fresh chicken bn-usi serv ed in a choice of sauces; Cream of Mushroom. Garlic and Prawns, i'cppiT or Blue (dicesc sauce

Stir Fried Pork

Tender sirtp.s ol pork fllict cooked with soy sauee,served with bean sproiit.s

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lovely lovely friendship. miguelJiemandcz("Stjnl'otdalunmi.org.

Searching for PEDRO RUSSO...

Hello, I attended Cokethorpe public school in England (1967-1970) with a friend from Gibraltar called Pedro Russo, whose father ran the Queen's hotel during that same period. Been Irving for about 30 years to find him. Many people must know of his family as the Queen's hotel was very popular back then. Please help. Thank you kindly, Lawrence Brako email: lbrako@yahoo.com

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Bell Pharmacy

Your Family Chemists

Here to help you by answering all your pharmaceutical questions

((niMilt US ar 27 Bell 1 .inr

lei; —>m Tcix; 424!W

* Dr Rene A Beguelin MB BS

General Practitioner

Sally Correa

Osteopath 8t Naturopath

Aylen Vielma

Clinical Psychologist Central Clinic, 1 A Centre Plaza, Horse Barrack Lane. Tel: 59955

Fax: 49495 E-mail: beguelin@gtbtelecom,net

Dr Keith J Vinnicornhe

Hits RCS lEnvl SIKiDI'd'Ki

Denial Surgeon

Unit F5B ICC. 2a Main Street

Tel/Fax: 40747

Emergency After Hours: 787.56

5 Citv Mill l ane, Gibraltar. Tel; 7T7f>5

Suppliers of Glucosamine, Ginkgo Biloba and all vitamins.

New large range of American products now in stock.

Body Building Products(Creatine etc)

(i(X'n:'Lini • 1pm & .5pm - fi,,^Hpni

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— centreagents FOR PHILIPS

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Open Mon.-Fri. lOam-lpm / 4pm-6pm

2 Horse Barrack Court, Gibraltar Tel: 73341

I'ASSANO OHlflANS ITD

British Iii\gistcrei1 Optiyinetrists

58 .A.i.A/.\ .41'REET Id: Tb5-14 E.ix: 76541

GIPBRALIAK Email:pnnkviodi^gihuet.^i

/- Chiropractic Health Clinic

f\ ), DrSle>enJ.t'rumpB..Sc.D('.M<'<" / I I.\ Open: Men - l-ri 6 tOpin

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

Tel: 4422A

IOC Siiiie l-'5C' 1st Floor. Cascniaics,(iihialiar

SU inhi r of Brnisli Chiroi'hK lu .A* va iiilioil

College Clinic

now on Ground Floor Regai Flouse. Oueenswav

Tel 77777 Fax 72791

E-mail info@collegeclinic.gi www.collegeclinic.gi

Open: Sam-Spm Mon - Fri and 1Dam-2pm Saturday

2 EYE STUDIO

OPTICIANS

Unit 208

Grand Casemates Tel: 47800 Fax: 47801

FOR A PROFESSIONAL OPTICAL SERVICE

SEETHE DIFFERENCE

HSA Rerjiul.rtial

McTlmoney Chiropractor

Gentle holistic treatment for all back or muscular problems and sports injuries

Gillian Schirmer MA,DC, MMCA Clmic iClauiliii'-..!.

Isi Floor. bFi Mam Street Tel 74040 or alior tioiii-. .1(1020

STEINER CHIROPRACTIC CLINICS

Dr Carsten Rudolf Steiner BSc DC tWember of the British Chiropractic Assocraiion

Back to better health with Chiropractic for headaches, dizziness, neck and lower back pain, sciatica, osteoathritis and sports injuries. College Clinic, Regal House. Tel: 77777

Samuel Ihgui BOS

DENTAL SURGEON

Bruce Hogg BBS iHonsi DENTAL SURGEON

Viiiling OrthoJontisi <6 Oral Surgeon 62 Main Street. Suite 6. PO Box 909. Gibraltar Tel: 76817

JOHN W. MILES

BSc (Podiatry). M.Ch.S

STATE REGISTERED CHIROPODIST

Treatment of ail Foot Problems

rown Toe-nails including Surgical Remova

• Biomechanical Analysis for Insoles / Orthotics including Children Wart(Verruca) Clinic

New

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CLA98ICAL HOMEOPATH

• Diabetics ^ College Clinic. Regal House,Queensway Tel: 77777

For

St

The

This

will remain open seven days a week and will provide a full catering service to patients, staff and visitors from 8.00am to mid night daily.

The hospital cafeteria menu provides a wide choice offood ranging from light snacks to main courses.

For all your Pharmaceutical needs

Primary Care Centre

IN A HEARTBEAT: Cardiac Awareness Week

Broken-hearted — although less romantic than a consuming passion or an ill-fated love cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death in Gibraltar, with an average of over 30% of the total of deaths between 1997 and 2003 due to some form ofheart illness.

Alarming statistics indeed, which have inspired Gibraltar's Health Promotion Officer Jason Easter to organise an annual event to raise awareness against this'number one killer'and highlight the importance of early prevention as the most ef fective therapy to minimise the risk ofheart attacks later in life.

Healthy Heart Week will kick off on Monday 14* November at 10 am in the ICCfoyer, with a stall manned by a team of specialists including Jason himself, the cardiac rehab nurse and the dietician. The stall's aim is to attract the public's atten tion to the matter, encourage their questions and distribute informative leaflets, which will be available at the Primary Care Centre throughout the week.

The main prejudice Jason wants to curb is the 'it's not going to hap pen to me' attitude that tends to make people turn a blind eye to some early symptoms and later en counter difficulties in tackling seri ous consequences like angina, ar rhythmia or heart attack.

Although everyone can be consid ered at risk of a heart attack, regard less age and level of fitness, tables can be turned in our favour just by making some simple adjustments in our everv dav lives.

And what are thev? You may be sick of hearing it, but the good old advice for a correct lifestyle is also valid in helping prevent not only heart disease, but many other com plications to heart disease, like dia betes, obesity, arthritis and arterio sclerosis.

Regular exercise, sensible eating, moderate drinking, and stress con trol are obviously the keys to a healthv heart, but other aspects have to be kept in mind when assessing your potential risk, such as family and personal history.

If one of your close relatives has suffered any form of coronary dis ease, you should undergo regular check-ups to spot and target any ir regularity as soon as possible.

And what about the common myth that a big shock can give you a heart attack?

Jason says that it isn't medically proven, but indeed heart sufferers should be careful with strong emo tions.

Very passionate about his job, he has the health of Gibraltarians very dose to his own heart: he preaches well-being by distributing leaflets

enough feedback after a campaign to verify whether ntore patients than usual sought medical attention re garding the propmoted infirmity, but Jason is confident that his efforts reach out to most people and stimu late them to ask further questions and control their lifestyle, at least until the following awareness cam paign!

He was pleased though when someone confessed to having given up smoking after their conversation at the No Smoking Day stall and he believes that many others are moti vated by his initiatives.

A qualified nurse, Jason was ap pointed to his position in 1999 and consequently attended a course in Health Education & Promotion at Thames Valley University.

He has just secured funding to complete his degree in health stud ies, with the perspective of special ising in medical law.

lesser kncnvn syndromes,following people's suggestions, and he will never be weary of stressing how im portant promotion, prevention and awareness are.

AlnaltliYlie»rtlsvhatfor enioyina life whatever your age around town, to roach all age groups, and to be on the safe side, he also runs mailing campaigns to make sure that everyone gets a leaf let in their letterbox.

And although his main concern is to focus on common health condi tions, he is open — funds permit ting! — to running campaigns on

Do patients draw benefit from his campaigns?

It is difficult to produce exact sta tistics, because Jason doesn't get

health & medical directory

CHEMISTS COUNSELLORS

Bell Pharmacy 27 Bell Lane Tel: 77289 Fax: 42989

Louis' Pharmacy Unit F12, International Commercial Centre, Casemates. Tel; 44797

CHIROPODISTS

John W Miles BSc iPodiatry), MChS College Cl inic. Regal House Tel: 77777

CHIROPRACTORS

Dr Steven J. Crump BSc. DC. MCC ICC Suite F5C 1st Floor, Casemates. Tel: 44226

Gillian Schirmer MA DC, WMCA McTimoney Chiropractor, Clinic(Claudia's).

1st Floor, 58 Main Street

Tel: 74040 After hours: 40026

Dr Carsten Rudolf Steiner BSc, DC Steiner Chiropractic Clinics, College Clinic. Regal House.

Tel: 77777

Madeline Andlaw PG Dip (BACP Registered) 19a Line Wall Road Tel: 74814 Urgent 54028785

DENTAL SURGEONS

Mike Clark BDS The Main Street Dental Practice 180 Main Street Tel/Fax: 52882

Dr Keith J Vinnicombe

BDS(Wales)IDS RCS lEngl MFGDP(UK) Unit F5B ICC, 2a Main Street Tel/Fax: 40747 Emergency; 78756

GENERAL PRACTITIONERS

Dr J. Shelley & Dr M. Salem College Clinic, Regal House, Queensway. Tel: 77777 Fax: 72791

E-mail: info@collegeclinic.gi

Website: www.collegeclinic.gi

HEALTH STORES

The Health Store 5 City Mill Lane.

Tel: 73765

Tireless Jason, after a successful information drive on diabetes, is now involved in the flu vaccine cnjsade to immunise high-risk patients, like the elderly, heart, lung or dia betes sufferers and the very young, against the forthcoming strain of intluenza — further information can be obtained at the Primary Care Centre front desk.

HOMEOPATHS

Ken Oftedal, BSc. MAEHU

At Claudia's Beauty Clinic (Fridays)

58 Main Street. 1st Floor

Tel: 41733 (or Spain 952 8964 24)

OPTICIANS / OPTOMETRISTS

Eye Studio Opticians Unit 208 Grand Casemates

Tel: 47800 Fax: 47801

Cache & Co Limited 266 Main Street. Tel: 75757

L. M. Passano Optometrist 38 Main Street Tef: 76544

REIK1

Marian Rush Fortunes, Casemates Square Tel; 51058 Email: gibreiki(s)yahoo.co.uk

SPORTS THERAPIST

Simon Coldwell DipFTSTLCSPllSTWABBA

G3. Eliott Hotel 2 Governor's ^rade

Tel: 51113 Mobile: + 34 678 857185

Email: Simon coldwe1l(gihotmail.com

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OCR Registered Centre for RSA Exams, GCSEs and A Levels

Threshold: W6 Can Help

The key to successful personal counselling is probably "that one has been there oneself, so that one is not shocked... by anything". This view of the broad spectrum of personal prob lems is Audrey Borastero's , one of the founders of Threshold Counselling Services — which earlier this year opened its doors and motherly arms to troubled Gibraltarians of all ages but it drew vigorous nods of approval from her two fellow counsellors.

And the range of troubles they have had to deal with in the months since Threshold was established has been vast. Troubled children, equally troubled parents, marriages on the brink of collapse, and the concerns of prisoners in Gibraltar's jail have sometimes taxed their wills to continue what they see as a valuable service to the community as a whole.

Though the three women had know each other previously, it was only when they enrolled — quite separately — for a four and a half year counselling course that the re lationship which eventually led to the founding of Threshold took shape.

"After we had finished the course — which included undcMtaking more than 100 hours of voluntarv counselling in our final year — we put our heads together and thought about how best to put to use the extensive training we had received — and actually use our achievements to help improve oth ers' lives," Audrey explains. "We identified the need for a counselling service—something which had be come apparent during our volun tary work and in our researches and came up with the idea of set ting up a counselling agency."

Threshold operates in the eve nings from rooms at Bleak House and all three women — Audrev, Margaret Sherriff-Benrimoj a former principal at St Bernard's and a deputy principal at the Hebrew

School,and Dunia Bautista — work in conjunction with the Gibraltar Vocational Training Scheme and the Citizens Advice Bureau. All three also do voluntary work at schools and Audrev spends her Saturdav

mornings visiting prisoners held locally.

"I was missing the empathic re lationship which as a teacher I had had with the parents of children and decided to attend the courses

Market Beautlflcatlon Scheme

TheGovernmenthasinitiated

a majorscheme for the beautification and refurbishment of Chatham Counterguard, Or ange and Montagu Bastions,Fish Market Road, Market Place and the Public Market.

Phase One of this major new road and urban renewal scheme encompasses the area from Regal House to the car park in Fish Market Road and involves the following:

• Demolishing all buildings within Chatham Counterguard

(previously occupied bv Gibmaroc);

Creating a new road through Chatham Counterguard, to link Reclamation Road to Fish Mar ket Road.This will provide an al ternative route to the northern areas of C.ibraltar, and therefore decongest Queensway, Waterport Roundabout and Glacis Road.

Siting ofa roundabout at the Irish Town end of Fish Market Road; Reconfiguration and provision of more parking spaces at Fish Mar

ket Car Park.

• General street refurbishment, beautification, re-furnishing and landscaping.

Phase One is expected to com plete by July 2006.

Later phases of the Scheme will include refurbishing Fish Market Road from Ocean Heights to the Public Market (including the re furbishment of the Public Market) and Market Place(Plaza del Reloj). It is also intended to recover Or ange Bastion at both Irish Town and Line Wall Road.

to develop a better understanding of the parents with whom 1 dealt," Margaret explains. Divorced, wid owed and then remarried for a third time — "though this was never an issue" — she retired last July.

"Our work entails not only coun selling individuals with personal problems, but also those who have in anyway been affected by the problems and behaviour patterns of those individuals," says Dunia. "Though this is hard work and of ten creates its own mental pressures on each of us, we get immense sat isfaction from seeing that we arc helping people."

Thmshold is open to anyone"re gardless of gender, race or creed," the trio stress. It provides counsel ling confidentially and "in a safe environment for people who arc going through difficult stages in their lives and who need help." They may be lonely, suffering from depression or anxiety, have suf fered a recent bereavement, have family or relationship problems or even be facing a terminal illness.

"We talk in the strictest confi dence and have been trained to be able to help... and we do help," says Audrey. And the other two nod their agreement.

Divorc»d, widowsd or oven both, hard knocks in their own lives persuaded Margaret

"Our work entails not oniv counselling Individu als with personal problems,hot also those who have In anyway been affected by the problems and behaviour patterns of those Individuals"

The mosl imaginative gilt shop. If nature hasn't thought of" it it's not worth having. Come and enjoy shopping with us.

Casemates Square

(See pages 83-89for restaurant8 bar information)

Q.- From where does the name come? The word Casemates, meaning a bomb proof compartment, usually ol masonry, to house a magazine or troop quarters, comes from the Italian 'Casamatta' from the Latin 'Casa'(house)and 'Matte'(mad) originating from the Latin 'Mattus'(drunk)!

Raising Moneyfor Action Aid

|ix staff from BDO Fidecs have volunteered to repre% sent the company in the Gi braltar Andalucia Challenge Quest between 26th and 29th May 2006 to raise funds for Action Aid. The team is made up of AnaMaria Tewksbury, Bettina Gary, Chris tian Hoare,Inger Hurtado,Julian Gamble and Pete Yeoman.

The Gibraltar Andalucian Chal lenge Quest involves a60 kilome tre trek between Rio Guadiaro Valley and the Grazalema Na tional Park mountain ranges, to

gether with a number of team chal lenges which will be presented by the organisers along the way. Be tween then and now the team have organised a whole range of fund raising activities which have so far included a Car Boot Sale and a raf fle, with the aim of raising a grand total of £7,500.

Look out for imaginative events in November or donate by cheque or electronic transfer(contact BDO Fidecs for details)or donate on-line at www.justgiving.com/ bdofidecs2006trek

Heritage Magazine: 75 Years ofthe Gibraltar Museum

Gibraltar Heritage Magazine Volume 4 Issue 1 — The sixth issue of "Gibraltar Heritage" is now available. Published by the Ministry for Heritage,Culture, Youth and Sport,the maga zine aims to heighten awareness of Gibraltar's heritage.

Medieval Baths- History and Con servation Works", as well as a se ries of "Spotlight on Collections" focusing on some of the more unu sual artefacts stored in the depths of the museum.

Amongst the regular items in cluded in this issue are a crossword, "Gibraltar Then and Now" and "Eye on good practice" features.

years

oftlie

Gibraltar Museum

The first of the two issues due out this year commemorates the 75th Anniversary of the Gibraltar Mu seum, focusing on the history and evolution of this institution. Fea tured articles include "The Activi ties ofthe Gi bra1tar M useu m","The

The full colour Gibraltar Herit age magazine is available from the Gibraltar Museum,the John Mack intosh Hall, the "Sentinel of the Mediterranean" Exhibition at the Casemates Gallery, and at numer ous points throughout Gibraltar.

As with previous issues, Gibral tar Heritage carries no cover price. Stocks ofearlier issues of the maga zine have run out but versions are available online on the Gibraltar Museum website; www.gib.gi/ museum Alternatively, there are reference copies available at the John Mackintosh Hall Library.

; ^rawing the nWe tickets atthe fund raising

Extreme Speri

The Gibraltar Extreme Sports Association or to use its less formal name,the Skate Park, is nestled amongst the derelict buildings of Coaling Island. It was officially opened on 4th October 2001 by the Sport Minister Ernest Britto, since then it has had a somewhat see-saw membership.

Eric Young the present keeper of the keys, has been trying to raise it's fortunes for the past few months although because of the heat it was closed during July and August. It opened again early in September and alongside Eric tiiere is a revamped committee that is keen to promote the benefits and fun to be had either skating on the ramps or playing skate hockey.

I spoke to several committee members including Secretary Mark Payne, Steve Heritage and under 12s' hockey coach Sandra Harris."We've recently appointed a new President, Peter Yeoman",

pert help and tuition for all ages. They are hoping to start a mini hockey league and bull upon their recent successes like the recent in house compe tition they held prior to national day with the winners enjoying a visit to the Mount, with tapas,drinks and the presenta tion of a trophv from the Sports Minister.

Mark said, "his aim is to increase the numbers of young people and children coming down and basi cally enjoying themselves in a fun, safe environment".

Previously you had to be a mem ber to join in but that's all changed and you can turn up and skate when you like for only £3 per ses sion, they'll even loan you a hel met because safety is paramount here. There is someone around whilst they arc open ensuring the safety and keeping a careful eye on cver>'thing.The skate park hassev eral ramps for both the beginner and the skilled and has all the usual props for those keen on try ing out the tricks of the trade like pipes along the ground, boxes for leaping over and take off ramps for the flyers.

The big draw though is skate hockey, Eric is both a hockey and referee coach. With Sandra Harris also qualified there is plenty of ex

Also for the first time, this \^ear they entered an un der 12s team in the Strait Games, organised for hockey teams in the Campo area. They arc waiting to register in the Andalucian hockey league which starts soon and includes teams from Seville, Jerez and AJgeciras amongst others. At the moment they have two teams with five young people per team and three on the side as rolling substi tutes but they would like more.

They took the girls to UK recently and a reunion for Eric Young with the British Flyers, a team he used to coach. The girls mixed in with, the Flyers and played games against Manchester and Sheffield as a touring side to further relations with a view to training and meet-

ings m order to hopefully form an all girl team to enter UK tournaments sometime in the fu ture. Girls like Louise Perez, pic tured in goal, who's been playing for 2 years now and looks every inch the pro hockey player in all the gear. 1 asked what she liked about

it and she said with a smile "I like it because it's rough." So 1 asked Sandra Harris,"Exactly how rough is it?" "It's not rough, just good clean physical fun and with the proper equipment injury is very rare." She went on to say,"At first it is quite scary for people but after a week or two,especially after they learn to skate well enough, they crack on and really get stuck in no matter what their age. In the Strait Games we had 7,8 and 9 year olds against a team of 14 year olds and they absolutely loved it!" The smiles on their faces even con vinced me as they chased, scram bled and threw themselves together chasing the puck, hockey sticks clashing and waving about.Atone point the puck came too close for comfort so 1 rushed from the arena just before five or six skaters all half my size whizzed past me not car ing about the wall they were head ing towards nor each other.Sandra told me that the benefits are enor mous,fitness,hand /eye co-ordina tion, confidence, meeting new friends and that team bonding you only get when working for each other for a common cause.

So how easy is it to get started?

Mark Payne explained that they have a limited amount of safety gear so if people want to try it out they can and if they decide they like it then they might consider buying their own equipment. For starters it is best to have skates, a helmet, knee and elbow pads,oh and don't forget that all important weapon known as a slick.

The Gibraltar Extreme Sports Association is open and trains on Mondavs and Wednesdays for the?

-13 year olds between 5 and 7.30pm. For the 14 to adult teams it is Tuesdays from 6-7.30pm. If you have thought . about hockey on skates and think you're tough enough then don't talk about it, ring Eric Young on 70710.As for mo,seeing the look nn children as young as eight flashing '' paston skates reminds me my davs( of thrill seeking are gone although watching them battle it out from the safety of the seats comes a good ^ second.Scared? You bet 1 am.

"Atfirst it is Quite scaryfor people but after a week or two... they crack on and really get stuck In"

Sauash Update Winners (Steven Shacaluga, Andy

EFPG sponsors10-pin Bowling Team

Last month, staff of the Euro pean Financial Planning Group spent a fun evening at the Ultrabowl. At the same event a cheque for £1,000 was presented by Tom Fraser, Chief executive of EFPG,to Ian Wood,captain of the Bowlten Wonderers bowling team. Half of the money was sponsor ship towards the Gibraltar Tenpin Bowling Association's trip to the World Cup in Slovenia this No vember. Julie Jackson who works for the EFPG will be the lady rep resentative for Gibraltar at this prestigious event and Graham Coles will participate in the men's

section. The other half of the spon sorship was to one of the leading teams in Gibraltar bowling's A League, Bowlten Wonderers, of which both Julie and Ian are mem bers. The team is hoping to reward EFPG for their generosity by col lecting some of the silverware on offer!

Mad Golf Winners

PONA @OLF

Winter Prices 2005

With effect from September 15th 2005 - November 30th the "pay as you play" prices are as follows

18 holes 57.50€

9 holes 29.00C

After 14;00 2 players 18 holes Including a buggy 110.00C

After 16:00 1 player 9 holes including a buggy 25.00€

Buggy hire 18 holes 35.00€ 9 holes 18.00C

Membership*

Unlimited Golf

^W6ek 236€ ^"'

2 weeks"341€ m

1 month 480€

2 months 650€

3 months B2p€

6 months 1,050€ '

:Buv.-10^^erijee fi

.and rec0^a 20% dIscqutK r

^ ^Playipg witf^ii mem,^10% discount

1 year1,425€ P'avN

Playing with a yearly member 20%'^oun

SuncJay Lunch Menu

Gazpacho

Fresh homemade chilled soup with tomato, garlic 6 onion

Chefs Special Salad

Crispy salad of lettuce, blue cheese and chopped bacon

Smoked Salmon

Scottish smoked salmon salad

Lenguado

Baked whole Dover sole with lemon and thyme

Supreme Of Chicken

Saut6d supreme of chicken, with mushrooms, lemon juice & parsley

Cordero en Salsa do Ajo y Miel

Shoulder of lamb baked in our chef's special garlic and honey sauce

It was a very good day all round for Man-Ho Leung at Dehesa Golf Club on Sunday 16th October, when not only did he win the SG Hambros Trophy, but also secured the very last spot in this years SG Hambros Med Golf Masters.

Man-Ho now joins all the other qualifiers for the prestigious sea son's finale at Valderrama on 6th November.

Second place went to Julie Brewer, who also took the top lady prize and in third place was Andy Ferguson. Top senior was Graham Hawkins who, along with Kevin Jones,also won the top team prize. The best round of the day went to

Jimmy Martin who finished an ex cellent one under par for his round.

Members should note the quali fying competitions for next year's Med Golf Masters start immedi ately, with the first being at EsteponaColfCIubonSunday 13th November when Ibex Insurance kindly sponsors the event. This venue is always very popular so you should make sure vou book your tee time on the'website www.teetimespain.com or ring Johnathan Goodson on 0034639741886. You can also get the full tournament schedule and how to become a member from the website or by contacting Johnathan.

All served with a selection of garden fresh vegetables

Walnut And Honey Ice Cream Delicious!

Hot Apple Pie

With vanilla ice cream

A Selection of Fine Farmhouse

Cheeses

Served with walnut bread

€18

Please call 95 2937605 to reserve your table

Tel: 95 293 7605

Fax: 95 293 7600

5km West of Estepona by the Arroyo Vaquero on the N-340 at km 150

www.esteponagolf.com

E-mail: information@esteponagolf,com

bowerbv, Ivan Vinaies )nr) and runners-up (Danny Fabre, Bill McCubbin,Julian Teuma)ofthe Solpadiene Tournament with sponsor Soulie Audibert representative Christian Wahnon.

Arts 6 Crafts

The Arts Centre. Prince Edward's Rd. Art classes for children(5-6pm Mon,5-6.30pm Tues, 5-7pm Thurs), adults (Mon - Tues 6.30ptn-8pm, Wed 6.30pm-8.3Opm, life painting Wed 7pm-9pm). Tei: 79788.

The Fine Arts/^sociation Galiery 1 st Floor above Gibraltar Crystal. Casemates. Open 11am-2pm. 4-6om Mon - Fri, Sat Ham2pm. Arts 6 Crafts Gaiierv (next door) opens Mon - Fri 9.30am - 5pm (summer)6pm (winter), Sat 9 30am • 3pm.

The Poetry Society meets on 20th of each month. Contact: Audrey Batty on 44355

Board Games

Chess Club meets in Studio 1, John Mack intosh Hall 8-10.30pm Tues.

The Gibraltar Scrabble Club meet John Mackintosh Hail Mondays. Bank holidays changed to Thursday same week. 7pm11pm Ail welcome. Tel: 73660 or 75995.

The Subbuteo Club meets Charles Hunt Room.John Mackintosh Hall 7.30 -11 pm.

Dance Modern & Latin American Sequence Dane* ing Mondays Catholic Community Centre 8.30pm(beginners 7.30). Over ISs welcome. www.gibnynex.gi/inst/cccseqdance/

Old b Modern Sequence Dancing sessions at the Catholic Community Centre at 8pm, beginners at 7.30pm, Wednesday.

The PSA Old b Modern Sequence Danc ing sessions at Central Hall Fridays8pm.be ginners 7.30pm. Tei 78282 or e-mail manvio@gibnei.gi Everybody welcome.

Senior Citizens Teatlme Dances at The Youth Centre. Line Wall Rd on Mondays 25 30pm. All senior citizens welcome for cof fee. tea and biscuits. Entrance free.

Classical Ballet classes for children 4-*-, Spanish dance and hip-hop at Liza School of Dance. 3rd floor, Methodist Church, 297/ 299 Mam St. Classes Weds6 Fri from 6pm at Chiitern Court(4Cs). Tel. 58111000.

Line Dancing GGCA Hall, Hargraves Ramp. Weds 7-8pm beginners:8-9pm improvers; 9 10pm advanced. All welcome. Including visitors to Gib. Tel. Helen 50381 /54013760.

Latin Caribbean Dance Classes Salsa. Samba. Merengue. Cha-Cha. Wednesday 9pm-10pm £3. Instructor Pedro Vera. Urban Dance Studio,Jumpers Bastion, Rosia Road. For all levels, adults, singles and couples, no experience necessary, come and have fun, exercise and enjoy the rhythms.

History 6 Heritage

The Gibraltar Heritage Trust The Mam Guard, 13 John Mackintosh Sq. Tel: 42844. The Gibraltar Classic Vehicle Association

Dedicated to preservation of Rock's trans port/motoring heritage. Assists members in restoration / maintenance of classic vehicles, Members/vehicles meet first Sunday of month,Safeway's car park from lOam. New members welcome. Tel: 72481 Fax: 72033.

Music

The Gibraltar Music Centre Trust Complete spectrum of instrument learning strings drums etc. Theory lessons- Five days a week 4pm-9pm. Tei: 75558 for details.

The Gibraltar National Choir and Gibral tar Junior National Choir rehearse on Mon day and Thursday 7 30pm-9pm. Newsin^ ers of all ages always welcome. Tel Lili 40035. 54006727

Outdoor Activities

The Caipe Ramblers This group walks on last Sunday each month, except July and August. Meeting place is the Spanish side of the frontier 8am just to the right of and opposite the Aduana vehicle exit. For any

information contact either Ray Murphy 71956 or John Murphy 74645, the two co ordinators of the group.

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award is an ex citing self-development Programme avail able to all young people worldwide equip ping them with life skilis to make a differ ence to themselves, their communities and the world.To date over 5 million young peo ple from over 100 countries have been mo tivated to undertake a variety of voluntary and challenging activities. For further de tails contact The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Montagu Bastion, Line Wall Road, Gibraltar

Tel: 59818 Fax: 51971 Reg. Charity No: 61

Quizzes

Cannon Bar quizzes are held on Tuesdays with at least three quizzes per night. Start ing with a warm up,then two other quizzes, including a theme quiz. Starts at 8.30pm, all welcome and prizes are given. Free en trance but a donation to charity is requested, Tapas served after the quiz.

The Edinburgh Arms. Naval Hospital Road, has a quiz night from 8.30pm every Monday with prizes and free tapas.

The Tunnel in Casemates has a pub quiz and entertainment on Sunday nights.

Social Clubs

Scots on the Rock: Any Scots visiting the Rock can contact Charles Poison (Tel: 78142) for assistance or information.

Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes(Gi braltar Province) meets at RAOB Club, Vault 1 Jumpers Bastion on these days: Provin cial Grand Lodge, 1st Monday of month, 8pm,Executive Meeting,last Mon of month 7pm, Knights Chapter. 2nd Mon of month

7.30pm, Examining Council, 3rd Mon of month 7pm. William Tilley 2371.Thurs 8pm. Buena Vista 9975, Weds (fortnightly) 7pm. Por Favor 9444,Weds(fortnightly)7pm,Fare well 10001, Tues 8.30pm. Goldacre 10475 (social) last Fri of month 8pm.

The Tuesday Ladles' Club meets 8pm, Queensway Club on first Tuesday each month. Open to all women in Gibraltar who enjoy making new friends Non-profit mak ing. proceeds donated to charity. Tel Anne 43869. or Margaret 70816

Special Interest Clubs & Societies

Gibraltar Horticultural Society meets first Thurs of month 6pm,John Mackintosh Hall. Annual Spring Flower Show. Also slide shows,demos on flower arrangements and outings to garden centres plus annual four of Alameda Gardens. All welcome.

The Gibrattar Photographic Society meets on Mon at around 8pm, Wellington Front. Basic courses, competitions etc. UN Association of Gibraltar PO Box 599, 22a Main Street. Tel 52108.

Sfwrts Supporters Clubs

Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Club. Commorant Wharf Boat Owners' Club. For details/fixtures Tei Mario 40240, Michael 55185,John 43166,Tito 70410, Dick 79000, John 59804 or Raju 76176.

Sports 6 Fitness Artistic Gymnastics; Gibraltar Artistic Gym nastics Association club for beginners, jun iors and squad at Bayside School in eve nings. Tel: Angela 70611 or Sally 74661.

Athletics: Gibraltar Amateur Athletics Asso ciation holds competitions throughout year for juniors, adults and veterans. Two main clubs (Calpeans 71807, Lourdians 75180) hold training sessions at Victoria Stadium, Badminton: Recreational badminton is avail able weekdays at Victoria Stadium (Tel: 78409 for allocations). Gibraltar Badminton Association (affiliated to IBA & EBA) has leagues and training for adults and second ary school. Tel: Ivan 44045 or Linda 74753.

Basketball: Gibraltar Amateur Basketball Association (affiliated FIBA) leagues/ train ing for minis, passarelle, cadets,seniors and adultsat a variety of levels. Tel: John 77253. Randy 40727 or Kirsty (minis)49441.

Billiards b Snooker: Gibraltar Billiards and Snooker Association (member IBSA) round leagues and competitions at various venues. New members welcome. Tel: Eddie 72142 or Peter 77307.

Boxing: Gibrattar Amateur Boxing Associa tion(member lABA)gym on Rosia Rd. Over 13s welcome to join. Tuition with ex-pro boxer Ernest Victory(75513 w,4278B h).

Canoeing: Gibraltar Canoeing Association. Tel. Nigel 52917 or Eugene 58014000.

Cricket: Gibraltar Cricket Association(mem ber ICC) runs leagues/competitions at Europa Point/Victoria Stadium. Junior/senior training. Tel: Tom 79461 or Adrian 44281.

Cycling: Gibraltar Cycling Association vari ous cycling tours. Tel: Uriel 79359.

Darts: Gibraltar Darts Association(member WDF)adult/junior leagues/competitions. Tel: Tony 70379 or Harry (Junior darts)41798.

Football: Gibraltar Football Association runs leagues/competitions for all ages OctoberMay. Futsal in summer months.Victoria Sta dium. Tel: 42941 www.gfa.gi. Senior Tel: Albert 41515, Junior Tel: Richard 58654000, Women's Tel: Brian 52299. Recreationalfoot ball for over 35s Tei: Richard 70320.

Golf: Med Golf tournaments held monthly. Tei: 79575 for tournament venues/dates. Gi braltar Golf Union has competitions through year, EGU handicaps. Tel: Bernie 78844.

Hockey: Gibraltar Hockey Association(mem bers FIH 6 EHF)high standard competitions/ training for adults and juniors. Tel: Eric 74156 or Peter 72730.

Judo: Gibraltar Judo Association UKMAF recognised instructors for all ages and lev els at Budokai Martial Arts Centre. Welling ton Front. Tel: Charlie 73116 or Peter 73225.

Ju-jltsu: Gibraltar Ju-jitsu Academy training and grading for juniors/seniors held during evening at 4 North Jumpers Bastion (Rosia Rd), Tei: Tony 79855 or club 47259.

Karate-do Shotokai: Gibraltar Karate-do Shotokai Association sessions for junior/sen iors, gradmgs and demos at Karate Club house.41H Town Range Tel: Andrew 48908.

Motorboat Racing: Gibraltar Motorboat Racing Association Tel: Wayne 75211.

Netball: Gibraltar Netball Association (affili ated FENA & IFNA) competitions through year, senior/junior leagues. Tel: Moira 41795 or Suzette 41874.

Petanque: Gibraltar Petanque Association plays at Giralda Gardens.Smith Dorrien Ave. New members welcome. Tel: Francis 70929.

Poof: Gibraltar Pool /Association (member EUKPF) home and away league played on Thurs through season. Tel; Linda 74753.

Rhytfimic Gymnastics: Gibraltar Rhythmic Gymnastics Association run training ses sions for girls 5-18 years weekday evenings during school holidays. Tei: Richard 70320, Rugby: Gibraltar Rugby Football Union train ing sessions for Colts (14-1-). seniors and veterans. Play in Andalusia 1st Division Oct • April. Tel: Darren 77938

Sailing: Gibraltar Yachting Association jun ior/senior competitive programme through season (April • Oct)Tel: RGYC 48847.

Sea Angling: Gibraltar Federation of Sea Anglers (members FIPS-M & CIPS) Superb calendar of events with four clubs partici

pating. Tel: Mario 72622 or Charlie 74337.

Shooting: Gibraltar Shooting Federation over 14s only. Rifle, Europa Point range (Tel: Joe 74973): clay pigeon, East Side(Tel: Harry 74354): Pistol, facilities near Royal Naval Hospital (Tel: Fidel 71990).

Skating: Gibraltar Skating and Xtreme Sports Association opens its Skate Park. Coaling Island, Queensway, Monday,Tues day & Wednesday, from 5pm til 8pm Satur day 8 Sunday,from 2pm til 5pm Thursday & Friday, closedSat 2-6pm. State of art ramps for Xtreme/aggressive roller blading /skate boarding. Leisure skating fa cilities provided within excellent rink(when

not used for roller hockey training). Tel: Eric 70710(after 5)or just turn up.

Snorkelling & Spear Fishing: Over 14s wel comefor snorkelling, over 16sfor spear fish ing, Tel: Joseph 75020.

Squash: Gibraltar Squash Association, The Squash Centre. South Pavilion Road(mem bers WSF& ESF). Aduit/junior tournaments/ coaching. Tel: Ronnie44922 or Barry 73260.

Sub-Aqua: Gibraltar Sub-Aqua Association taster dives for over 14s. tuition from local clubs. Voluntary sports dubs: Tel : Phil 44606, Noah's Dive Club Tel: Leslie 79601. 888sDiveClubTel: Martin70944. Commer cial sports diving schools also available.

Swimming: Gibraltar Amateur Swimming Association(member FINA&LEN)opens its pool for leisure swimming Mon - Fri 78.45am, 12-4pm, 8-9pm. Junior lessons (Rebecca 71342), squad for committed swimmers, water polo (Chris 72869).

Table Tennis: Gibraltar Table Tennis Asso ciation(members ITTA)training/playing ses sions, Victoria Stadium, Tues ^lOpm and Thurs 8-11pm with coaching and league competition. Tel: Lizanne 45071/54020477 or Eugene 58014000.

Teekwondo: Gibraltar Taekwondo Associa tion classes/gradings Tel: Marl 44142.

Tennis: Gibraltar Tennis Association, Sand pits Tennis Club, excellent junior develop ment programme. Courses for adults, leagues / competitions. Tel: Frank77035.

Ten-Pin Bowling: Gibraltar Ten Pin Bowling Association(members FIQ 6 WTBA)leagues at Ultra Bowl,training for juniors and squad. Tel Gary 42447 or Charlie 71125.

Triethlon: Gibraltar Triathlon Union (mem bers ITU)Tel: Chris 75857 or Harvey 55847.

Volleyball: Gibraltar Volleyball Association (members W 6 EVF)training, leagues,com petitions for juniors/seniors. Tel: Tony 40478 or Elizabeth 68306000.

Yoga: Integral Yoga Centre runs a full pro gram of classes from Mon-fti at 33 Town Range. Tel: 41389. All welcome.

Theatrical Groups

Gibraltar Amateur Drama Association Ince's Hail Theatre Complex, 310 Main Street E-maihgibdrama/gtyahoo.co.uk Tel: 42237 www geocities.com/gibdrama

Stage Musicals Group contact Trevor on 73098.

Trafalgar Theatre Group meet 2nd Wed of month,Garrison Library Bpm. Ail weicome.'

Clubs,Associations,should submit detdilsUi The Gibraltar Magazine, S3D ICC, Main $1 Fax: 77748 for inclusion in this guide.

Support GroupslAssociations

AJcoholics Anonymous meet 7pm Tues and Thufs, 1 lam Sat at Nazareth HseTel: 73774.

Citizens' Advice Bureau Open MondayFnday9.30-12.30 and 2.30•4.30. Tel;40006

Email: info@cab.gi or visit 10 Governor's Lane. No appointment necessary, no charge, Families Anonymous Support group for relatives and friends who are concerned about the use of drugs or related bahavioural problems. Meetings are held alternate Thursdays at 9pm at Nazareth House. For more details Tel: 70047 or 73465.

Gibraltar Cardiac Rehabilitation and Sui>port Group meets on the first Tuesday of every month at 8.30pm at the John Mac Hall, except lor July and August.

Gibraltar Marriage Care. Free relationship counselling, including pre-marriage educa tion(under auspices of Catholic Church, but open to all l. Tel: 71717.

Gibraltar Society forthe Visually Impared. Tel : 50111 (24hr answering service).

Hope. Support after miscarriage Tel: 41817.

Narcotics Anonymous Tel; 70720 Overeaters Anonymous support group of those with compulsive overeating problem. Tel helpline for details of meetings 42581.

Parental Support Group, helping parents and grandparents with restrictive access to their children and granchildren. Tel' Rich ard 46536,Jason 76618, Dominic 54019602.

Psychological Support Group, Nazareth House. Group therapy Tuesdays 7-9pm(so cial, crafts, games, music etc.). Workshop Thursdays 2pm-4pm. Tel; 51623.

With Dignity Gibraltar friendly support group for separated, divorced, widowed or unattached people. Regular meetings Weds 9pm at Catholic Community Centre. Line Wall Rd. Outings and activities Tel: Flor 54007181 or Marie 79957.

International Competition for Oanco Team

Gibraltar will be attending the World Dance Show Champion ships in Riesa,Germany,during the last week of November.

Under the auspices of the Gibral tar National Dance Organisation, headed by its president, Michael Prescott, the Gibraltar team will be participating in the solos and du ets categories.

The dancers are now training

very hard for the event, and are photographed above: Ukeana Martinez, Stephanie Gonzalez, Claire McGrail, Jordan Picardo, jade Pau, Francine Anes, Liesel Santos, Nicola Dewar, Kristel Gil bert, Tamara Garcia, Genyka Celecia, Jade Frederico, Danyel Lutwyche, Chantal Santos, Christopher Shoesmith, Tyrone Yeo, Steven Pardo, Daniel

Prescott (missing from the picture is VicePresident Gerald Rodriguez), The dancers will be giving an of ficial presentation on 16th Novem ber before they leave for Germany. We wish them all the best of luck at the Championships.

Women In Need. Voluntary organisation for all victims of domestic violence Refuge available. Tel: 42581 (24 hours),

Women's Aid. Aims to protect women and children from violence. Tel: 41999.

Church Services

Bahia Tel 43637 for meetings.

Cfiurch of England Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Tel 78377 Sung Eucharist. Sunday

lOSOam Sunday School

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day

Saints Suite 21a Don House, 30-38 Mam Street Tel 50433. Sundays 10am.

Church of Scotland St Andrew's, Gover

nor's Pde. Tel: 77040. Worship 8 Sunday School 10.30am. Bible Study Tues 7.30pm.

Evangelical Breiheren Assembly.

Queersway Quay. Sun Ham, Tues Bible

Study 6pm, Thurs Prayer Meeting 6pm.

Hindu Engineer's Lane Tel: 42515.

Jahovah's Witness Line Wall RdTel. 50186.

Jewish 10 Bomb House Lane Tel: 72606.

Methodist 297 Main St Tel: 77491. Sunday services 11 am 87pm. Midweek Fellowships.

Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned, 215 Main St Tel: 76688.

The Cityline Church 13 Castle Street Tel: 75755 email: citylinegib@yahoo,com. Meet ing: Tues 8pm, Sundays 11am.

Support Groups and Churches should sub mit details to The Gibraltar Magazine,

Local dancer Genyka Celecia from Danza Academy will be travelling to Germany with the dance team in November to participate at the World Dance Show Championships.

Genyka will be competing in the solo section with her award win ning dance piece performed at the Gibraltar Stage Dance Festival and at Fuenle 2005 in Marbella choreo graphed by Zuleika Green and will also be partnering Seamus Byrne with a piece choreographed by Anne Marie Gomez.

Genyka who has successfully participated at previous European and World Dance Championships gaining 5th, 7th and 8th place in

different junior sections, looks for ward to competing at adult level this year.

"Argus/Norwich Union are pleased to contribute sponsorship to Genyka Celecia who recently completed a summer student place ment with the company during which her abilities, dedication and personality were self-evident. Nor wich Union have historically shown their commitment to the community in many ways and

Argus are keen to maintain the same traditions by way of sponsor ship and charitable donations," said Sandy Guthrie, the Chief Ex ecutive.

Genyka would like to thank Argus/Norwich Union for support and encouragement and she looks forward to doing the best she can when representing Gibraltar.

Robinson, Seamus Byrne and Aaron Caballero together with GNDO President Michael Prescott and Secretary Deirdre

UUNT PANIUI

Local Artists Support the Elderly

Vin Mifsud, Willie Chiappe, Olympia Reyes, Maria Luisa Artesani, Willa Vasquez,

Ambrose Avellano, Maruchi Martinez, Jessica Garcia, Angela Baglietto, John Olivero, Margarita Peralta and Claudio Olivero are just some of the over twenty artists who donated their artwork to the Panic Button Fund.

A raffle will be held on 28'^ No vember at the Arts & Crafts Centre in Casemates, where the prizes will also be on display.

The Chief Minister has been in vited to the event and so has the Governor's wife, Lady Richards, who holds the cause particularly close to her heart.

Three thousand tickets are al ready on sale at £ 1 each and can be purchased from Manolo Ruiz(tel ephone 78282),Johnny Norton(tel ephone 7732(1) or James Aguilera (telephone 70665) or many other people who have kindly volun teered to help sell their share.

"Don't be afraid to ring us: we'll bring the tickets to you, like Mo hammed to the mountain," said the organiser, Gibraltar Senior Citi zens'Association president Manolo Ruiz.

"The funny thing with raffles is that,if 1 approach people asking for a donation with nothing in return, they are more than happy to slot one pound in my tin, but when 1 sell a raffle ticket for the same amount,they seem to hesitate,even if that money has the potential to win them something valuable!" he continued,puzzled by this paradox of Gibraltarian generosity.

5 The prize pool comprises an asI sortment of artwork,in a variety of I media, by local artists, whether g well known or relatively new, I whom Manolo has asked for coni tributions to his worthy crusade;

"When 1 was little 1 was taught not to ask for anything, now that I'm older I'm not afraid to anymore," he said, "so 1 went around solicit ing paintings from artists."

The idea first popped up some years ago, when the Panic Button Fund was still dawning and walercolourist Vin Mifsud volunteered one of her works to raise money. But, in the initial stages, it wasn't clear how to maximise the benefits of its sale, so the project was left dormant until recently, when it was revived by the further donation of a newcomer artist, followed by a race of generosity and solidarity to put together a mouth-watering en semble of local talents.

The Panic Button Fund has so far spent close to £42,000, most do nated by individuals, associations or companies, on top of the £5,000 the Government gave when the venture was launched some five years ago.

Thank to a continuous cash flow, the Gibraltar Senior Citizens'Asso ciation has been able to provide an estimated six- or seven-hundred elderly citizens who live on their own with this high-maintenance life-saving equipment connected to Gibtelecom.

In fact, the button itself, to be worn around the neck all the time and to be pressed in case of emer gency, has the relatively short lifespan of four to five years, and the Association is now involved in

Over 20 local artists have dorjated their paintings as prizes in a raffle to be held on 28lh November for a very worthy cause

replacing the ones first distributed when the concept was introduced in Gibraltar — with the generous help of MRW who have taken care of all paperwork and customs and deared the consignment duty free.

The device guarantees peace of mind not only to elderly citizens, but also to their relatives" To be is sued one, an application must be made to Social Services who then pass on the details to Gibtelecom who install the device free ofcharge (although a donation or a symbolic rental fee is much appreciated from whomever is able to contribute to the continuity of the service).

Although the panic button can be considered the flagship of the SeniorCitizens' Association, it isn't the only pie the energetic Manolo Ruiz hasaslice of; he and his committee have set the ball rolling for the prompt sorting of a two-hundredpatient waiting list for cataract op erations,for which the Government hired a team of Scandinavian spe cialists.

They have also approached a lo cal firm that will supply equipment forarthritic patients, but most im portantly, Manolo is a big fan of... fiin, so he got involved in the or ganisation and smooth running of

a number of recreational and edu cational activities for senior citi zens, particularly physical activi ties. Yoga,Tai Chi, power walking, table tennis, aerobics sessions are held weekly and the project of setting up a Ladies' Forum,which will hold classes, lectures, meetings, debates and other activities tar geted especially to she-pensioners, is in the pipeline.

It is important for our senior citizens to keep busy and altogether healthy, Manolo explained. iNlowadays we live longer, we might as well make the most of all our years."

And if you thought that life be gins at forty,think again — with the CSCA,life starts as soon as one be comes'ofage'and hence automati cally entitled to join the big merry family they have become.

Brighter, lighter teeth in less than one hour using the latest techniques in photocosmetic tooth lightening

Smile enhancement using atraumatic porcelain veneering

We have special interest in the care and management of nervous patients

Justsome of the fabulous paintings by local artists to be included in the raffle in November

Mike Cbrk B.D.s.

I

Out Qf Africa

gallety

t Jltali/iew\s ^/c>nn>ller(z X O^epairs

*■ pifl nv"" ^ Vouchers Available

Tlh-.y^nel/eri) rv/'Oir' •■ni/rm in/, iliani'iml ^tjllin/ ''i-n.'lU-n,

HOUSE CLEARANCE VALUATIONS

for all aspects of Beauty Care also Aromatherapy and Reflexology at Richards Hair & Beauty Salon Elion Hotel. Governor s Parade. Tel: 70244

Unilbrni Gcnlre

Career/Workwear Supplier

The Uniform Centre Supplies. The Rock's Wearing Needs. In The Career. Worfcwear Fields. CHEFS.SECURITY, CLEANERS

49 Governor's St. Gibraltar Tel/Fax: 70607 / 73593

REJUVENATE YOUR SKIN with Crystal Clear Oxygen and Microdermabrasion

ihc hcaiitx inuiimeni lo the stars

O/'c/f. Mmuiay - Friday lOam- 7pm

Atthis time of year Of)ftIOi^ comesto minii

Investigation by Jon Lewes. Additional research: Allison Jarman

Whether we wish to call them ghosts or spirits, in the time before and after Hallowe'en the sight in the street of little ghouls, witches with or without broomsticks and all types of hobgoblins obliges the mind to focus on the world of what is now called the paranormal.

Scientific investigation has moved on from the days of wailing and watching for the rattling of chains by a headless, elegantlv dressed 17''' Century gent or lady to modern ghostbusters, digitally re cording the activities of poltergeists and the appearance of orbs and flashes of light,for future broadcast on television.

Nevertheless,in Gibraltar, whore the famous Lady in Grey,the "nunturned-ghost" at the Governor's Residence, the Convent, is widelv known about, if not actually glimpsed by many, the rattle of chains has been replaced by the rat tle of water pipes.

"The ghosts of the soldiers who died defending Gibraltar are disap pointed, according to the current guardians ofthe Rock." A writer for UK's Daili/ Telegraph, Isambard Wilkinson, wrote this in 2(X)4 going on to say that"Unacknowledged and unremembered by the British, they wander the colony's most re markable hidden feature — the vast labyrinth of34 miles of tunnels con structed during the past two and a half centuries to prevent the Span iards reclaiming their lost land."

He quotes WO Pete Jackson who escorted the Daily Telegraph writer on a four of one of the longest sec tions of tunnel, the Great North Road, as saying that "like many British servicemen who have worked in the tunnels he believes that the souls of dead British serv icemen haunt the Rock and says soldiers have heard whistling, dig ging and singing".

The period in which dozens of soldiers died," explained WO Jackson,"was during the tunnelling making the Great Siege Tunnels which were hewn out to provide gun emplacements and embrasures during the 1779-83 Spanish at tacks".

Isambard Wilkinson goes on to say: "Along the 60ft-wide Great North Road the silence is broken only by the rattle of water pipes. In erne lonely spot, near a plaque com memorating 100 years of the Royal

acr or ncnon, jiAosrs arc a tounsr attraction Engineers,WO Jackson became vis ibly unnerved. He once took the daughter of a soldier, L/Cpl Law rence Bolton, to lay flowers at the spot where he had died in a tunnel ling accident. When WO Jackson next returned his shirt was tugged from behind and he was jerked backwards by an invisible force, he said. On leaving the tunnel a woman he had never met told him that he had been followed by the ghost of L/Cpl Bolton."

WO Jackson confirmed that"It is a unique and extraordinary place. We now use it for subterranean war

fare training... But soldiers still hear and see things, like bloodied ghosts".

Stories of uneasy spirits in Tun nels arc also known in other parts of the world.

In the 1930s, a formidable fortress was built by the British army at the top of Bukit Maung on the south ern part of the island of Pulau Pinang in Malaysia to protect the island against the enemv, the Japa nese. The Japanese went on never theless to overwhelm the British forces, made up not only of British, but also Malay and Sikh soldiers,by

approaching from inland, rather than from the sea. From that day on wards, the fortress at Bukit Maung became a Japanese army base and its dark history was filled with many tragic stories of how prison ers were tortured for information.

As a result, in the years follow ing the fall of the Japanese army in 1945, the locals in the area kept well away from Bukit Maung for fear of its reputation as a place of hauntings by ghosts of dead sol diers.

The fortress had been constructed over 20acres of land,complete with underground military tunnels and ventilation shafts,ammunition bun kers, logistic centre, canon firing bays,sleeping quarters,cook houses and a medical infirmary. A remark able section of underground tunnels — one even leads all the way to the sea, acting as an access tunnel to get to submarines — forces one to walk, or even crawl through verj' narrow, confined places.It is now preserved as an official war museum.

Roviug Eye. the column in Panorniiia, Gibraltar's weekly newspa per, had already spotted the tour ism potential in the ghosts of the dead when the column in 1998 wrote "in addition to the tunnels I have been commenting on latelv, there is still another that leads from The Convent to a property in Town Range.But this one is a very special one, because.... this tunnel is haunted. I will certainly not men tion any names,but 1 have been told who to speak to with regard to'the haunt' as proof that indeed this place is well and truly haunted. I shall not personally comment on whether ghosts really exist or whether these exist only in the minds of individuals. 1 will not take sides now or ever! But if ever there was a tourist attraction wanting to be marketed, this is it. Nothing fas cinates tourists and visitors more than the opportunity to be scared out of their wits. Here is a site, an amenity if you like, with a readymade legend which could be ex ploited to Gibraltar's benefit."

Stories of uneasy spirits in Tunnels are also known in other parts of the world

'Decorative Crafts

Send completed crossmmi to: The Cannon Bar, Cannon Line, Gibraltar. One entry per person.

first PRIZE: Lunch for 2 at The Cannon Bar

Winner notified in next issue of The Gibraltar Magazine. Closing date: 23rd November 2005

Last month's answers:Across;5.

Reassurance

Crossword Winner Kinma Gome:. 2o William's Road

GIBRALTAR CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU

The Cibriiltar Citizens Advice Bureau is a registered charity that offers free and independent information and advice.

All welcome, whatever the problem,the Gibraltar Citizens Advice Bureau is here to help you.

We don't tell!

We don't charge!

We don'tjudge!

Contact the Bureau at tei: 40006, Fax;40281,email:jj or visit our web pages at www.cab.gi

Piece of meat on the bone taken from the neck of a young sheep (4,6)

Cut of meat,usually from pork-not needed perhaps!(5,3)

Carry, hoist(4)

Cut of meat- not knighted here!(4)

Seat to make rapid vacation of aircraft possible (7)

Disseminated (11)

Lay into verbally (7)

Cut of meat - from the rear end!(4) Observed (4)

Heavy rainfall(8)

Descriptive of a sheet of iron with alternate ridges and troughs(11)

Down

1. Folded part of jacket etc. where one might Sport a flower etc.(5)

2. A1 ,singer of Spanish Eyes(7)

3. Convert pork to ham -even if it is not un well!(4)

4. Drinking vessels featuring a face (4,4)

5. Moral principle (5)

6. Have enough money for(6)

11. One not expected to win a race, etc.(8)

12. Female of a bird with a brightly coloured tail(6)

13. Brass instrument — you may have to blow your own!(7)

15. Modern name for lotto or housey-housey (5)

17. Unit of weight,or currency or a US poet(5)

18. Proceeds of a burglary (4)

rnor s

11. Anise 13. Carat 14. The ears 16. Argonaut 17. Wing 18. Swiss cheese. Down:1. Flak 2.Symbols3. Falla 4,Scrounge 5.Buenos Aires 6.

10. Platonic 12. Shot shy 17. Week

•any species of plants ad vertise their presence with large, colourful, showy flowers. But there are some which are small and less conspicu ous, but no less colourful and in teresting. There are certainly many inore small flowers growing in the Upper Rock than large ones, but they only become obvious to those wiling to observe more closely at what grows around them. These flowers are most common in clear ings, along footpaths, and along roadsides. Large open areas such as Windmill Hill Flats and Europa Flatsareextremely rich in such spe cies, and are superb plant-hunting areas.

One of the rarest and tiniest plants is the pygmy evax {Evax pygmoea) which is only found on Windmill Hill Flats. The entire plant Is rarely taller than 3cm,and

^oioefss o/'ffi/rra/ta,

IC riCltsHlr T !• is usually only about 1cm. It is ex tremely difficult to find, as it easily merges with the background.

Another very rare plant with tiny flowers is the bastard toadflax {Thesium humile).This can be found, albeit with great difficulty, from' Martin's Path to Windmill Hill Flats. The white flowers are 2 to 3 mm across, though the plant itself can spread for 30 cm.

Much more common,but just as difficult to spot, is the wail speed

well(Vewiuai arvensis). These blue flowers have four petals, and are 2 to 3 mm across. The plants are gen erally small, around 5 cm tall, but can trail up to 20 cm.

A very common plant of urban areas is the ivy-leaved toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis). This plant can be found growing on old walls, cracked pavements, rooftops, and as a weed in flowerpots.It is a small member of the snapdragon family, each flower being about 1 cm long.

One of the most colourful small flowers to be found on the Rock is without doubt the blue pimpernel [Amaallis flmvjsis). The bright blue flowers are around 1 cm across,and are very common. Much less com mon is the scarlet pimpernel, which is not found on the Upper Rock, though it might grow as a weed in cultivated plots.

The small-flowered bugloss {Echium parviflorum) can only be found on Windmill Hill Flats, and is a very rare plant. The tubular blue flowers are about than 1 cm long,and the stems can be from 10 to 30 cm long.

.Vfert- information on Gi braltar's wildfloivers can be obtained from the book The Flowers of Gibraltarrer//ten by Leslie Linares, Arthur Harper and John Cortes. Availablefrom local bookshops.

ahnpmmmel

The Naming of Stone Mountain

I can tell you a lot about Stone Mountain, Georgia. It was the second town (after Decatur) to be incorporated in DeKalb County, bursting into life like a mushroom after a storm on 21®* December 1839. The last time anybody bothered to count, back in 2003,the population was 7,097. Of course,that was just before old Zeb died and Annie Jackson had the twins, so it didn't hold for very long, but repainting the sign at the city limit seemed a whole heap of trouble, so they let it lay.

Officially, 69.2% of the folks who live in Stone Mountain are black, 23% are white, 4.1% are Hispanic, 2.5% are of mixed race, 0.7% are American Indians, 0.5% are Asian Indians,0.7% are other Asians, and 1.5% are "other race". Now, that adds up to 102.2%. Mighty strange, but pay attention. 5.3% have Irish ancestry, 5.2% West Indian, 3.6% English,2.6% French, 2.5% German and 2.9% American. That takes care of 22.1%, which leaves 77.9% (or maybe 80.1%) from, presumably, another planet.

Its famous sons are invariably basketball or football players, like Coleman Collins, who played bas ketball for the Virginia Tech Hokies, and Shaun Slegall, who turned out for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. It doesn't get much better than that.

In 2000, the average house in Stone Mountain cost $95,400, and the average annual family income was $38,603. Not $38,602, and cer tainly not $38,604. Maybe next year.

Stone Mountain is big on pump kins. For six weeks every year,from late September to the end of Octo ber the town goes pumpkin crazy. At the annual pumpkin festival you can compete in the wacky Pumpkinpalooza games,invite car diac arrest in the pumpkin pie eat ing contest, and even have an indepth conversation with the south's largesttalking pumpkin tree(maybe they grow even bigger up north). You can do all this and more to the irrepressible sounds ofStone Moun tain's premier hot music combo,Pe ter S-The Pumpkin Pickers.

Yes,I can tell you a lot about Stone Mountain, Georgia.

But not everything.You see.Stone Mountain wasn't always called Stone Mountain. When it wasincor porated on 21"" December 1839, it was named New Gibraltar, and it stayed New Gibraltar for precisely eight years. We scent a mystery.

America in 1839 was a land of pio neers. It was exactly fifty years since George Washington had been sworn in as the nation's first president,and many an old man sitting on his front stoop remembered old George well. It had now moved on to its eighth, Martin Van Buren, who was never

remembered by anyone.

It was a vast country full of empty spaces that the poor and persecuted of Europe yearned to come and fill. The sad irony was that to do so they first had to persecute, even annihi late, the sitting tenants, who had been erroneouslv dubbed "Indians" on account of the fact that Christopher Columbus, who had over-spent on rigging and compen sated by buying a cheap compass, thought he'd arrived in Asia.

Pioneers didn't think of Native Americans as "people"; not real folks like you and me. In the Pio neers'Handbook they were listed un der "possible hardships" which,like droughts, storms, cholera and alli gators in the creek, must be "overcon\e".

So the immigrants moved relent lessly across the land,and wherever they paused long enough to build a few wooden huts, a town was born.

Typically the founders of these towns were small groups offamilies held together by kinship, common nationality, or perhaps a shared re ligious faith at odds with the pre vailing orthodoxy. Often it was this that had made life difficult back home, and they had come to the promised land to shed their old lives, and start all over again.

But people are strange. No mat ter how painful the memories of home, regardless of how hard they had striven to escape,home was still home. It might be far away, but it was still where the mind and the heart wandered in the silent corners of the night.

So it is not surprising that so many of the towns that began to erupt like acne across the face of young America were given names that ech oed the origins of their founders. Some names were simply stolen: Birmingham, Madrid, Rome, Ath ens, Paris. Sometimes, in a bid to fuse nostalgia with hope to produce something that looked simultane ously back to the past and forward to a better future the word "new" was added. This was true of towns like New Amsterdam (later New York) and even of states (New Hampshire, New England).

When pioneers stop moving they

become settlers,and the settlers who chose to settle on the land that would soon be New Gibraltar chose, significantly, a spot at the base of a mountain. A mountain that, as its name suggests, is little more than a giant rock.

It is possible that the man (it was always a man in those days) who gave New Gibraltar its name was merely a gifted geography student who saw a picture of the real thing in a book once,and wished to flaunt his knowledge like the inevitable ir ritating know-all in a pub quiz.Pos sible, but unlikely. Bookish types were few among American pio neers. They tended to be men of ac tion; tough, practical types who could build a log cabin with their left hand while shooting "Indians" with their right.

So we may be reasonably sure that the man who chose the place and christened it New Gibraltar had practical rather than academic knowledge of the Rock. Stone Mountain,in other words,reminded him of home.

Despite diligent research,the cur rent writer has been so far unable to idcntif)'this man,but one of the joys of ignorance is that it frees us to run barefoot across the fields of conjec ture. Let us feel the grass between our toes.

Gibraltar's governor in 1839 was Field Marshall Sir Alexander George Woodford, whose portrait hangs in the National Gallery, but who oth erwise left few traces. There is noth ing to suggest that his presence on the Rock was unpopular enough to drive its citizens in droves to seek fresh lives on the far side of the At lantic, but perhaps there is a clue to our story in his past.

In the 1830s, Gibraltar, in British hands for over a century, wasstilla place for pioneers itself. Pioneers from places like Dublin, Genoa andMalta.For five days in 1826(28® November - 2™' December)the act ing Governor of Malta was Sir Al exander George Woodford, plug ging the gap while Sir Frederid Cavendish Ponsonby was presum ably rushed to the island at short notice to take over the reins from the suddenly deceased MarquisofHast-

the man who chose the place and christened it New Gihraltar had practical rather than academic knowledge of the Rock

ings. In those davs that would have taken, oh, about five days.

Why Woodford was merely made caretaker for less than a week does not concern us. What is important is that it proves his presence on the island. Who knows what tensions, what intrigue.s, what scrapes, ro mantic entanglements and feuds a soldier falls into far from home? Let us suppose that some sort of un pleasantness developed between Woodford and some hot-headed Maltese — and let us call him, merely as a literary convenience, Caruana. Woodford, we surmise, nurses a passion for Caruana's wife, leaving the islander three choices. Let Woodford have her, shoot one or both of them,or take his wife out of temptation's way. The first his manhood will not allow. Honour demands the satisfaction of death, but ultimately he decides on option three for the sake, you understand, of the children. He throws their pos sessions into a box and takes the next boat for Gibraltar, where his brother, father-in-law and at least four cousins have gone before him.

For a few years lite is idyllic, un til one dark day early in 1835 the past returns to haunt him. It is an nounced that a new Governor will be taking up his post at the end of February. Caruana reels like a man who has taken a sudden and unpro voked blow to the solar plexus. The new Governor is his old nemesis,the

viper, Woodford.He panics. Murder is considered once again, but he de cides that escaping retribution for killing the King's representative is unlikely. He decides to move again, and this time to a place where Woodford is unlikely to follow.Cer tainly he will never be sent as gov ernor to the American states, which have torn themselves free of the Brit ish yoke.

Across the Atlantic he sails, drag ging his family with him. But to be on the safe side, once in America he pushes on westward and southward until he spies a mountain in Geor gia that brings an unexpected moistness to his eye."Here",he says,"we shall stay,and I shall call this place... New Gibraltar".

At this point,fairy tales generally

end with the words, "...they lived happily ever after". But our story has one last, mysterious twist. The town remained "New Gibraltar" for precisely eight years and then, on Christmas Eve 1847, its name was abruptly changed to the descriptive but comparatively dull "Stone. Mountain".

Why? Perhaps Mr Caruana had died and nobody else in the place knew where Gibraltar was, or how to pronounce it? Maybe he had be come deeply unpopular in the town for his insistence that everyone should eat calentita and spinach pie every Sunday?

Or maybe he and his restless fam ily had moved on again, perhaps because of his paranoid fear that Woodford was still on their trail. There is at least one town called Gi braltar in California. Mavbe the Caruanas trudged on until, faced by the mighty obstacle of the Pacific ocean, and weary beyond endur ance ("Dad, are we nearly THERE yet?") they finally stopped.

Who knows? It's a shame that New Gibraltar lost its name, but there are strange echoes. Can it re ally be coincidence, for example, that one of its proudest monuments, second only to the south's largest talking pumpkin tree, is the cable car that takes you to the top of, er... Stone Mountain?

I think we should be told. Any body?

ISking Caids Armistice Day—Fridayllth November 2005

The eleventh hour of the elev enth day of the eleventh month marks the signing of the Armistice to signal the end,on llth Novem ber 1918,of World War One,"The War to end all Wars".

As in previous years, the occa sion will be marked with a short ceremony at the Lobby of the House of Assembly. Here memo rials are found commemorating the names of those Gibraltarians who gave up their lives in the

Wars. The 2-minute silence will be marked by the firing of a gun by the Royal Gibraltar Regiment at 11.00 hours. Buglers will then sound The Last Post and wreaths will be laid.

His Worship the Mayor, the Hon. Clive Beltran, will be lead ing the ceremony. Guards of Honour will be provided by the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, the Royal British Legion Gibraltar Branch and by local War Veterans.

Ifsa shame that New Gihraitar lost its name, hutthere are strange echoes....

Poppies in Gallipoli

iiuke's Hall a %;

As the old saw goes,Prince Charles made'an honest woman'of Camilla Parker Bowles, which is more than can be said for his ancestor Prince Edward.

Prince Edward, one of the more controversial Governors in the his tory of Gibraltar, carried on a very public affair with his mistress Julie Therese Bernardine de Montgcnet, for twenty-seven and then dumped her in order to provide an heir to the throne.

Julie St- Laurent, as she was bet ter known to the masses,first met His Royal Highness, Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and fu ture father of Queen Victo ria, at Gibraltar in 1791. The Prince had been shipped there at his own request to serve with his personal regiment the Royal (7th) Fusiliers.

The 23-year-old Edward found life on the Rock rather dif ficult. The allowance his father King George III had pro vided was totally inad equate and he was ea ger for female com panionship.

In June that year he wrote to his brother the Prince of Wales that he was satisfied 'on the whole' but that he was lonely. To remedy the situation Edward dispatched his valet on a mission to find him a mistress. The first woman procured proved unsatis factory but then in January of 1791 Mademoiselle Mongenet arrived on the scene. He wrote his brother the Duke of Clarence:

"1 feel this want of resources per haps less than any man,for I man age with the assistance of a little music, a few books, and a little small talk with four or five officers, who constantly live in my family to fill up as cheerfully as I can those moments when professional busi ness does not occupy me. Besides I have at present a young woman liv ing with me, who has every quali fication which an excellent share of good temper, no small degree of cleverness, and above all, a pretty face and a handsome person can

give to make my hours pass away pleasantly in her company."

An aide of the Duke had found her in Marseille and arranged for her passage to Gibraltar and accom modation for her and her maid in an apartment in the town.Edward, not the least concerned about shar-

her maid to be lodged in an apart ment in the town and not with me. 1 confess to you quite plainly that I do not know to what to attribute this way of acting upon your part, when you have heard from my own lips more than twenty times before you left for Marseilles that under no consideration would 1 ever con sent to lodge under another roof than mine the person who would become my

ously she liked what she saw in the Duke and when the regiment sailed for Quebec in May of that year she was at her man's side.

From all surviving correspond ence it seems that Edward and Julie enjoyed a happy domestic life and she participated in all official func tions and dinner parties the same as if she had been his wife. Edward was promoted to the rank of major general in October 1793 and lieu tenant general in January 1796. In May 1799, he was created Duke of Kent was promoted to the rank of general and appointed the commander-inchief of the forces in British North America.

ing his bedroom with a mis tress, would have none of it.

The Duke chastised his assist ant in a letter:

"The talent for music which 1 wanted her to have(she had osten sibly been hired to sing for the Duke) was not at all the chief ob ject which I had asked you to watch for... but 1 was even more upset when 1 read on the small note that you enclosed in your letter that vou wanted Mile de St. Laurent, with

companion and friend."

Some officers close to the Royal Family tried to get Laurent to leave the Rock by offering her money but she couldn't be bought off. Obvi-

In May of 1802 Edwaid returned to Gibraltar to take over as Govern 0 r. H i s term in charge would be con trover sial but he had been sent with express orders to re store discipline among the troops:

"...on your assum ing the command of the garrison at Gibraltar, to make your Royal Highness aware that much exertion will l)e necessary to establish a due degree of discipline among the troops;and which 1 trust, you will be able gradually to accomplish by a mod erate exercise of the power vest in you."

It was almost eleven years to the day since their embarkation that Edward and Julie aboard Isis sailed into Gibraltar Bay.

He was greeted with the usual

To remedy the situaUen Edward dispatched his valet en a mission to find him a mistress..

royal salutes but there were mutterings among the troops, re cently arrived from success ful cam-

^4 paigns against Napole on's ar mies, who had heard of the Duke's severity and strictness.

Soldiers, officers and men alike, stationed at Gibraltar prob ably faced more hardship and bore dom than at any other station. Space was restricted, rations where short, little entertainment could be found. The Garrison Library of fered some occupation to officers, but not the men. With nowhere to go and nothing to do, the only fun to be had was to get drunk.

The rape of two Spanish women visitors was the catalyst for a crack down.The Duke closed fifty of the wine houses and all but three tav erns were declared out of bounds. Restrictions were placed on when and what liquor soldiers could buy and all purchases had to be in cash.

The majority of the citizenry were pleased but the wine house and tavern owners, and most im portantly the troops were angry.On the night of 24th December the 1st Regiment of Foot mutinied. They assembled before the Duke's house and with ri ties loaded and bayonets fixed demanding he leave on the next boat. The Royal Fusiliers sup ported his Royal Highness and fought off the mutineers but three soldiers were killed and six wounded.

In her book The Prince and His Lady Mollie Gillen wrote: "The mutiny, which called him from his dinner table on Christmas Eve and stirred up the Rock like an ants-hill, shook the Duke to the roots of his self-esteem. At no time did he question the tightness of his policy,"

He turned to his beloved Julie. "He had need of Madame's loving sympathy at this time. What end less hours of self-examination,selfrecrimination she must have soothed, over 'those events that havealmostbrokcnmy heart... the mostcruel I ever yet experienced... de dreary gloomy scene which this place must now ever be to me."

Asa result of the mutiny the Dukeof Kent was replaced by Lieutenant-Governor Sir Thomas

Trigge. He retained the title of Gover nor of Gibraltar until his death but it was in name only and he would never see the Rock again. It was once again May wh e n Edward and Julie sailed aboard the Amazon and returned to Eng land via Falmouth.

The couple lived happily to gether for another 15 years but then the death of the heir presumptive to the throne. Princess Charlotte Augusta, created a crisis in the Royal Family. The Prince Regent (later George IV) and his younger brother, the Duke of York, had no surviving legitimate children. The other unmarried sons of King George III, the Duke of Clarence (later King William IV), the Duke of Kent, and the Duke of Cam bridge, all rushed to contract law ful marriages and provide an heir to the throne.

In those days Royals only mar ried Royals and so there was no possibility that Edward could re main with Julie. On 29th May 1818 Edward Duke of Kent married Princess Viktoria Saxe-Coburg of Germany.

"It had been a hard decision. The public applauded but the Duke was never quite free of guilt."

The future Queen Victoria was born in May 1819 but Edward would not live to see her reach even a year old as he died on 23rd Janu ary 1820 at Woodbrook Cottage, Sidmouth, Devon, after a brief ill ness. He was buried at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, but his re mains were later moved to the Kent Mausoleum, Frogmore, Windsor. He predeceased his father, George 111, by six days. The Duke of Kent also predeceased his three elder brothers, but, since none of them had any surviving legitimate chil dren, his daughter was next in line for the throne on the death of King William IV in 1837.

Edward had arranged for an an nuity to be paid to Julie but it stopped upon his death. She lived out her remaining years in France passing away on 8th August 1830, three weeks short of her 70th hi rthday.

'It had been a hard decision. The puhiic appiauded hut the Duke was never quite free ofguiit."

Wonderful Things on the Reck

A chap named Paul Graham messaged the Gibraltar Magazine contact board recently to ask if anyone could help him get a copy of a movie, Nonderfu! Things, starring Frankie Vaughan. "Hi there, greetings from England. Please help. Does anybody have a copy of the 1958 film Wonderful things with Frankie Vaughan? I have been looking for years. It was filmed in Gib in 1958 mainly around Catalan Bay. Please help. Many thanks."

The request was jumping with exclamation marks,leading one to believe that Mr. Graham is rather anxious to gel a hold of a copy.

I'm afraid 1 wasn't able to help, but intrigued, and having just viewed (and written about) Tire Ruiuiin^ Mnn, starring Laurence Harvey and Lee Remick,which was filmed in Gibraltar and Spain, 1 wanted to learn more about Frankie Vaughan's film in Gibraltar.

Woiiderfiil Thiu^s was one of two Frankie Vaughan vehicles pro duced in the late 1950s by actress Anna Neagle. The popular British recording artist is cast as a Gibral tar fisherman named Carmello, who vies with his brother Mario over the attentions of the beautiful Pepita. While on holiday in Lon don,Carmello falls in love with so ciety girl Anne, leaving the field clear for Mario back home.

Since this is essentially a roman tic drama, Frankie Vaughan limits himself to a single ballad, but it's a good one.

Wilfred Hyde-White offers the film's best performance as the debutante's dry-witted papa.

The one song by Vaughan was of

Fnnkie Vaughan must have caused quite a stir in Catalan Bay in 1958

the same name as the movie, Wo«licrful T/ii/J.s'.-i, (flip side /lufy) and it reached a respectable 22nd on the UK pop charts.

Vaughan's other film with Anna Neagle was a lightweight musical comedy The Lady is a Square (1959). The story line is standard fare for the early days of rock when mildmannered teens(by today's stand ards) were portrayed as rebellious but good intentioned kids. Vaughan plays a young singer(sur prise!) who falls in love with a teen-

When you lust Fancy That.

Faincy That cafe and take-away on the ground floor of the Inter national Commercial Centre (ICC) celebrates its first anniver sary this month. The team,Tony, Yvette and new member Sylanne want to thank everyone for their

support and look forward to see ing customers old and new for an other great year. The cafe has in troduced some great new fillings and specials plus afternoon coffees with waffles, scones or cheesecake.

age girl but the girl's mother (Neagle)is more classical than pop and objects to the relationship.The film includes another fine perform ance by Wilfrid Hyde White; and 26-vear-old Anthony Newley, who in the film dances with Anna Neagle (later Dame Anna Neagle) on stage at the lamented Talk of the Town, was credited by critics with a'fabulous' performance,

Herbert Wilcox, Neagle's hus band directed both films and the other lead characters were Jemmy Spenser and Jocelyn (Jackie Lane). Being from the other side of the Atlantic 1 hadn't heard of either of them but checking on the internet found that they were both very big in Dr. Wlw. I also discovered that the movie Wonderful Things was based on a story by Jack Trevor wiio went on to write some very success ful television series, including Fraud Squad, Dixon of Dock Green and You're Only Young Tivice.

Another name on the cast list for Wonderful TUitigs that jumped out at me was Ron Barker. 1 thought, "It can't be THE Ronnie Barker can it." But it was. The first film of the great comedian who died last month was Wonderful Things.

As for Frankie Vaughan, he would never win any Oscars but he certainly made a mark as one of the great singers and performers of his era.

He was born Frank Abelson in

Liverpool on 3rd February 1928. The name Vaughan came from a Russian-Jewish grandmother who used to call Frank "my number vone grandson".

The young Frankie was a mem ber of the Lancaster Lads Club, a member group of the National As sociation of Boys' Clubs in the UK, and throughout his career he was a major contributor to the clubs,each year dedicating the royalties of one song to them. He started out at the club intending to be a boxer. Then at age 14 he received a scholarship to the Lancaster College of Art, where he sang in the dance band. After a stint in the Royal Army Medical Corps in World War 11 (where he spent most of his time boxing) he returned to art school, this time at the Leeds College of Art. Vaughan then worked on the stage in song and dance acts and by the late 19405 he was adored by women for his sexy image and stylish clothes, often tuxedo, bow tie, top hat and cane. In 1955 he recorded his trademark and theme song,Ghv Me the Moonlight and was nick named Mr. Moonlight. Vaughan was popular on both sides of the Atlantic and recorded a large number of songs that were covers of United States hit songs, includ ing Perry Como's Kewfie Doll, Jimmie Rodgers Kisses Sweeter than Wine, Boyd Bennett's Jim Lowe's The Green Door, and (with the Kaye Sisters) the Fleetwoods' Come Softly to Me.

Vaughan went to the United States in 1960 to make a film with Marilyn Monrc^e, Let's Make Love, and was an actor in several other movies, but his recordings were never chart hits in the US (though ludy, did make the charts briefly and at a \'ery low spot).

Vaughan continued performing until 1985 when he starred in a stage version of 42nd Street at Drury Lane Theatre in London. A year later, suffering bad health, he left the cast.

Frankie Vaughan died in 1999of heart failure, aged 71.

The name Vaughan camefrom a RussianJewish grandmother who used to call Frank "my number yone grandson"

Iast month's prize draw took place at Biancas at the begin ning of October. The prize of a mountain bike was won by Annalise Rodrigues, On the day the priz.e was presented to Annalise's daughter Christina who

was able to hand her existing mountain bike down to her brother Mark. The prize was handed over by familiar face to all customers of the restaurant,Sarah, who has been working at Biancas for two-and-ahalf vears.

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There are two other possihilities...

The t'irsl does not actually make money,but it does save a lot. Buy a good wine young and keep it for a long time. It must be a good wine, which will improve with age — so it will not come cheap in the first place. First growth clarets are the obvious choice, although some Riojas may be worth a punt. Butand here is the good bit — go to a wine shop during the day before you propose to drink it. Remem ber what you originally paid and add 50%(to allow for inflation over — say — 10 years). Inspect the price of another bottle of the same wine. You will still be 50% to the good. In the evening you will be drinking nectar at half price.

The second is to buy young, sell old, and make the 50% in real money. Such advice belongs prop erly in one of Peter Schirmer's fi nancial columns and not here. You should be creating a cellar of wine for your own enjoyment of one of the greatest gifts nature has to be stow, and not for the sordid busi ness of making money. However, in order to keep vour cellar replen ished, it may occasionally be nec essary to sell some bottles that have reached their best but which you no longer have room for. (And you still have a case or two of the 1995 to console you while waiting for the 2000 to come on song.)

Running a business is tedious; unfortunately so is cellarage. Buy ing a case of 2004 Chateau Latour and leaving it under the bed for 10 years won't do — especially in Gi braltar and Southern Spain. When you get it out from under the bed it will be corked, vinegary, or both. You will have lost not only your ini tial investment, which was not cheap, but also any pleasure or profit.

A Lot Of Wino can make you.... MONEY

well sometimes... The best way of making money out of wine is to open a wine shop or a restaurant. You buy it direct(and usually in bulk, thereby obtaining a discount} from the producer, add an appropriate mark-up and watch the money flow in from the customers. Unfortunately, both these solutions require premises and staff, accounts, and all the other boredoms ofrunning a business, which tend to detract from the delight of watching the money flow in.

The wine must be kept still, rea sonably dark,and in a cool and con stant temperature. The Great Siege Tunnels spring to mind as an ideal spot. Perhaps the Gibraltar Tourist Board could be persuaded that the addition of rack upon rack of slowly maturing wines would make a wonderful addition for tourists to gawp at — and just as good as going to a Bodega in Jerez. In addition, their mouths would drop open as the guide tells them the value ofeach bottle. But no tast ing would be permitted!

In addition, stock control is re quired. Assuming the Great Siege Tunnels are not available, your space is limited. This means drink ing up wine when it is ready (no great hardship) in order to free space for the new wine you have

just bought. But you must be care ful. Slavering over the thought of opening up a 1995 (which is now ready) you may forget that the 1993 (which you have quite enjoyed,but the prospect of the 1995 is more enticing) is still taking up rack space and needs to be drunk soon. Over the next vear or two, you en joy the 1995, move gently on to the 1996 and then— horror — discover 6 bottles of the 1993 which are now past their drinkable date. A note book and diary is indispensable.

The alternative to having your own collar is to ask a wine shop to keep it for you. This has the disad vantage of some cost; and the fact that you can't just nip down and get another bottle halfway through dinner (although the latter may in fact be an advantage — you want

to savour it, not drink it because it is there). You also need to be sure that the wine shop will keep it properly and not sell it by mistake; "Sorry guv'nor, we forgot it was yours but here is the money we got for it", as you look at a few scrumpled £20 notes and your dreams of the last 10 years have disappeared.

The value of your investmentcan go down as well as up. These words, so beloved of the Finance Services industry, apply equally to any investment in wine — and you cannot chock on a daily basis to see how your investment is doing. But there is nothing better that the an ticipation and then the pleasure of opening and drinking a bottle you have owned for a long time and which is now at its best.

The wine must be kept still, reasonably dark,and in a cooi and constant temperature. The Great Siege Tnnneisspring to mind as an ideal spot

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Cafe Solo

Grand Casemates Square. Tel: 44449

Modern Italian eatery set in Casemates. Everything from cajun spiced langoustines Caesar salad, or aromatic prawn salad on romaine leaves bound in wild mushroom & sherry mayonnaise, to pastas (eg: smoked haddock risotto with mascarpone and basil oil;open ravioli of swiss chard, basil, garlic and potato with parmcsan cream sauce) and pizzas (eg:Quatto Stagioni topped with mozzarella, ham,chicken, pepperoni and mushroom).

Casa Pepe

18 Queensway Quay Marina. Tel/Fax: 46967

Situated right on the water front at Queensway Quay,Casa Pepe has a comprehensive a la carte menu which includes dishes such as melon & Serrano ham,stuffed piquillo pep pers and filled mushrooms to start, followed by a choice of salads, rice and noodles and fish, poultry and meal dishes which include King Prawns Macarena (cooked with fresh ginger,tomatoes,mangosand bananasserved withbasmati rice, fried bread and bananas), Medallions of monkfish cooked with white wine and lobster sauce, duck breast Armanac-style (with Cognac, nruslrrooms and pine nuts). Medallions of pork loin cooked with Serrano ham and dry Jerez sherry, and fillet steak Malaguena cooked in creamy garlic mushrooms and sweet sherry sauce topped with prawns. A wide range of tapas/ raciones is also available.

Open: Monday to Saturday 11am till late.

Ciaus on the Rock Queensway Quay. Tel/Fax: 48686

Internationa! menu served on the quayside for lunch, after noon and dinner. Well worth a visit, especially if you ap preciate good wines and cigars.

Open: Lunch & Dinner. Closed Sundays.

Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant

11-13 Market Lane. Tel: 77313

Good no fuss Chinese Restaurant off Main St near Post Of fice serving all the traditional favourites including Spring Rolls, Chicken Satay, Buddha Duck in Black Bean Sauce, Pork Sweet and Sour, King Prawns with Spring Onion Gin ger Sauce, Shredded Crispy Beef, Special Noodles and Chicken in Black Bean Sauce on a Sizzling Plate.

Open:12 - 3, 6.30 - midnight every day.

Da Paolo

Marina Bay. Tel: 76799

Da Paolo serves a high standard of attractively presented international cuisine right on the waterfront at Marina Bay.

Try baked leek & wild mushroom tartlet or lobster bisque to start, or for main course, crepe of fish & prawns glazed with hollandaise sauce; baked aubergines filled with ratatouille gratinated with mozzarella; or perhaps the loin of pork baked in cider with cinnamon. Continental/Eng-

qltSL

lish breakfast, lunch, inc. light meals & baguettes, and full a la carte dinner served. Quayside terrace.

Open:from 9.3()am. Closed on Sundays.

The Rib Room Restaurant, Rock Hotel. Tel: 73000 www.rockhotelgibraltar.com

With stunning views of the bay, the Rib Room is acclaimed for its high standard of service and cuisine. Ultimate venue for intimate dinners, or larger gatherings, the Rock Hotel rises to the occasion with style and sophistication. Glass of fino and appetiser welcome diners. Summer a la carte and daily house menu from £21.95 p/p specially prepared by the Executive Chef with classical cuisine and a modern in terpretation. Comprehensive wine list.Sunday lunch £14.95 for a welcome Manzanilla,4-courses always includes roast sirloin and some of best Yorkshire puds in town. Sunday newspapers. Relax afterwards to the resident pianist/gui tarist. Air-conditioning, parking, kid's menu/high chair. Open;7pm-10pm daily. Credit cards: AE, D, E, M, V

Simon's Restaurant

44 Cornwall's Lane. Tel: 47515

Excellent food in a sophisticated, intimate atmosphere. Hosts Suzanne and Simon ensure everyone receives per sonal attention. Start with Simon's own pat<? with red on ion jam and hot toast, or king prawns thcrmidor with tar ragon mustard, white wine and cheese cream sauce or per haps baked New Zealand mussels with garlic butter and melted camembert. Main courses include kebab of swordfish and king prawns with creamy dill sauce, breast of chicken with mushroom, bacon, rosemary stuffing and masala sauce,and roast tenderloin of pork wrapped in ba con with apple, sage and calvados sauce. Or try the roast rack of lamh with mint, redcurrant and red wine sauce or the grilled fillet of mero with avocado and prawns. There is something to delight every palate. Fully air-conditioned. Open:evenings(bookings recommended).

Thyme Restaurant

5 Cornwall's Lane. Tel: 49199

Email: thymegibS'hotmail.com

Modern wine bar serving refreshing cocktails and a wide range of New World and European xvines in a cool lively atmosphere, and on the 1st floor above is the restaurant serving bistro cuisine with a menu featuring dishes from

Award winninfi breakfasts from 7.30am

Great meals & snacks all day

Evening Steak House menu Med Golf Clubhouse

Leeds United Gibraltar HQ

Parliament Lane Tel: 75924

• Warm friendly bar, lots of military history

• Hosts Eaion, Mollie & Justine

• Air-conditioned

• Various top beers

Olcfe

John Mackintosh Sq Tel: 71804 rraifi/fpufl/ fiifi ill flie rnlMe oftown

• Outside seating to watch the world go by

• Homemade specials every day

• Open 7 days a week

all over the world. Try one of these dishes from the wide selection:crispy Fried monkfish,rocketsalad,chiUi jam and creme fraiche; steamed mussels flavoured with ginger, lemongrass, chilli & coconut milk; hand rolled ravioli of smoked chicken, crab, basil & marscapone, parmesan veloutc; or mains of millefeuille of char grilled salmon & Mediterranean vegetables,scared scallops and basil pesto; charred aubergine, tomato, basil & mozzarella parcels, red pepper & olive reduction; or Slow braised Moroccan lamb shank,tabl?ouleh,spiced onion,almond & sultana chutney. Main menu changed seasonally and specials run daily. Eve rything made on the premises using only the best, fresh ingredients. Wide range of New World and European wines.

Open:12.30 - 3pm and 7pm till late. Closed Sundays.

informaleating

A1 Andalus Bar Restaurant

3 College Lane. Tel: 49184

Small eatery in the centre of town serving lots of tasty food from sandwiches and baguettes to barbecues(lamb chops, fillet steak, mixed grill etc) and tajines. Try the cous-cous (beef, veggie,chicken or lamb)or the tapas - £1 (eg;Span ish omelette, boiled crab legs, garlic chicken, cuttlefish stew).

Open:Sam - late evening.Now serving breakfast from Sam.

Barbary Ape

Opp.Queen's Hotel. Tel: 44380

Homemade food, breakfast, lunch and dinner, including English breakfast, toasties, dub sandwiches, salads, burg ers and fish & chips. Kid's menu. Enclosed terrace, park ing, near cable car.

Open:from 10am Monday - Saturday. Closed Sundays.

Buddies Pasta Casa

15 Cannon Lane. Tel: 40627

Tasty Italian spedals in pleasant ambience. Large selection of starters from garlic bread to calamari. Main courses in clude fcttuccine de tormaggio, spaghetti alia carbonara, fusilli al salmone, and entrecote al whisky to name a few. Tasty des.serts and variety of wines.

Open: Monday - Wednesday 10am - 5pm, Thursday, Fri day and Saturday 10am - 4pm and 7pm - midnight.

Charlie's Steak House Grill Marina Bay. Tel/Fax:79993

George and Paula are your hosts at Charlie's where you will rind a wide selection of international food including sizzling steaks, tandooris and seafood dishes plus daily spe cials. Try the special sizzling mixed grill which includes tandoori and garlic chicken breasts, slices of prime fillet, king prawns,sausages,bacon, tomato and peppers. Regu lar theme nights. Quayside terrace.

Open:9am - late every day.

Le Coq D'Or

Unit 9-10 Watergardens. Tel:43601

Eat-in or take-away at this busy eatery for all the favourites such as fish and chips, pie and chips,sausages,donner and chicken kebabs, roast chicken, curries, pinchitos, pakoras, salads and Moroccan cakes.

Open: lOam - late 7 days a week.

The Corner House Restaurant

Continental Hotel 1 Engineer's Lane Tel: 76900 Fax:41702 Email: cDntiho@gibnet.gi

Ideal for a rest after shopping as it is centrally located on Main Street, this cafe serves breakfasts (all day), lunches

attar//e

Sleak House

GrlH & Tauern

Where people meet to eat

a fine and varied lunch menu and a cumprehensive a la cane menu that compliments both our kitchen and our customers.Everything from toasties to liiglialelle and from full English breakfa.st to Jamaican Pepper Pot.

Charlies Sizzling Specials with steaks or mixed grills. We also cany a good selection of wine, spirits and beers.

We're on the harbour wall at the beautiful Marina Bay so book a plca.sani lable for two or just sit w^alching die world go by while sipping an ice cold beer.

Reserve on Tel/Pax: 79993

No. 2.XdmiraJ's Walk, Marina Bay, Gibraltar

E-mail: george@gibnel.gi

We love to cater for groups and parties so why not spend that nest special occasion at Charlies?

and ahornoon teas. Try the homemade mushroom soup or the roast leg of lamb demi glaze, or perhaps the fish and chips or homemade steak mince burger in pepper sauce. Kiddies menu available.

Open:7am to 7pm (lunches from 12.30)

Fancy That Sandwich Bar

Ground Floor,ICC. Tel: 47262

Great place for hot and cold rolls, sandwiches(wide selec tion of fillings), toa.sties, hot pies, and salad poLs. Wus tea, coffee, soft drinks, doughnuts, muffins and biscuits.

Open: Mon - Fri 8,.30 - 6pm,Sat U)- 2pm.

Get Joost

248 Main Street Tel/Fax: 76699

Great tasting smoothies and juices freshly made. All smoothies wilhout artificial ingredients and with everything from banana, mango,honev, raspberries, apple, pineapple, ginger, carrots, mint, wheatgrass...

Open: Monday - Saturday 8am-7pm

Just A Nibble

1st Fir International Commercial Ctr. Tel: 78052

Full blown licensed cafeteria serving Lnglish breakfast, vast range of toasties, rolls, and other snacks. Meals include steak and kidney pie, Bob's famous chicken curr\'/chilli con came,& now Kentucky-style tried chicken, plus all the old favourites - jacket spuds, burgers, hot dogs, fish and chips, and daily specials. Ideal meeting place.

Open: Monday - Saturday from 9am.

Just Desserts

Isl Floor ICC Tel: 48014

Comfortable bright and airy cafe serx'ing vegetarian and non-vegetarian cuLsine from breakfast and lunch to after noon tea. Homemade desserts a speciality. Eat-in or takea way at sensible prices. CHitside catering service.

Open:8am - 4.30pm Monday to Friday.

Khan's Indian Cuisine

Unit 7-8, Watergardens. Tel: 50015

Eat-in or take-away at this traditional Indian eaterv. Eve rything from onion bhajia and green pepper pakora to chicken tikka, tandoori king prawns. Khan's special fish cuiTv, chicken jalfrezi, lamb rogan josh, naan bread, rices, vegetable dishes and evervthing in between!

The Lunchbox

301 Eurotowers. Tel:49310 with orders

Fresh filled baguettes and Vienna/wholemeal rolls, paninis

Serranito style (roast pork, green peppers and sauce), brie, ham & tomato or mushroom,or tuna mayo and sweetcorn, Calentita, salads, baked potatoes, chilli beef with cheese nachos. Relax with theC'ironicIc In the coffee and TV lounge. Range of liKal dishes, homemade cakes and desserts.

Open: Monday - Friday 7am - 6pm.

Mumtaz Indian Cuisine Take-away

20 Cornwall's Lane. Tel: 44257

Good Indian take-away service serving all the favourites from masala naan and spinach bhajia to lamb birynni, chicken likka masala, king prawn korma and tandoori chicken kebah roll. Sauces and vegetarian dishes plus spe ciality di.shes each Sunday (all dishes reasonably priced).

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

Munchies Cafe

24 Main Street. Tel: 43840 Fax:42390

A great sandwich bar/cafe offering an unusual range of sandwiches on white or granary bread, plus salads, ba guettes,soups, desserts, homemade ice-cream and hot/cold drinks. Busines.s lunches, parlies and kids parties also ca-

tcred for (for party and office platters phone or fax order by 5.30pm day before'- minium orders for delivery £12).

Open: Mon - Fri 8.30-7, Sat9 - 4, Closed Sun.

Piccadilly Garden Bar/Restaurant

SRosiaRoad. Tel: 75758

Pleasant bar near cable car/Queen's Hotel with lovely ter race for drinks/meals. Tasty Spanish/English cuisine in cluding fresh seafood, breakfast, churros and hamburgers. Open;from breakfast to late.

The Pie Machine

83 Governor's Street. Tel:49314

Delicious pics homemade on the premisesincluding chicken & mushroom, pure chicken,steak & kidney, minced beef& onion and lots more. Also sausage rolls, filled rolls, soft drinks, tea and coffee. Eat-in or take-away.

Open: Mon - ItI 7am - 6pm,Sat/Sun Sam - 2pm.

The Real Taste of Cornwall

16 City Mill Lane. Tel: 70737

Real pastie.s, handmade in Cornwall and baked in Gibral tar. are available from this Pasty Bar and Takeaway located just off Main Street near Mothercare. Go along for a quiet pint or take a pasty home for tea, many flavours available from beef& Stilton to Cheese & Bacon,Steak & Ale to Broc coli, Cheese & Sweetcorn.

Open: lOam - late Monday to Saturday.

Roy's II Fish and Chips Cafeteria

Opposite the Convent, Main Street. This fish and chip cafeteria and fake-away is located direclly opposite the Governor's residence on Main Street. Traditional tish and chips, burgers,salads and much more-

Open: U)am-10pm.

Sacarello Coffee Co.

57 Irish Town. Tel: 70625

Converted coffee warehouse, ideal for coffee, homemade cakes with afternoon tea, plus full menu including excel lent salad bar, specials of the day and dishes such as lasa gne,steak and mushroom Guinness pie, hot chicken salad, tuasties, club sandwich and baked potatoes.Art exhibitions. Open;9am - 7.30pm. Closed Sundays.

THREE^ ROSES

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Smith's Fish ic Chips

295 Main Street. Tel: 74254

A traditional British fish and chipshop with tables/seating available or take-away wrapped in newspaper.

niMenu: Cod, haddock or plaice in baiter, Cornish pasties, mushy peas etc. Also curries, omlettes and burgers.

Open: Sam - 6pm Monday • Friday. Brvakfa-SLs from Sam. Located: Main Street opposite the Convent.

Solly's Salt Beef Parlour & Delicatessen

8 Canon Lane. Tel: 78511

Newly opened on Cannon l.ane this carvery, charcuterie and deli offers delicious foinJ to lake away eat in or for deliver)-. In- the carver)' (fnim 11am), hotorcold baguettes with fillings such as curried chicken breast, Merguez sau sages, schnitzel, pastrami, smoked turkey and pressed beef. Therearealsosaladsand platters including bangers&mash, lamb chops, beef burgers and hot dogs. (Clatt Kosher)

Open: 12pm - late. Closed Saturdays, Sunday 6pm - late.

The Tasty Bite

59a Irish Town. Tel; 78220 Fax: 74321

Tasty Bite has one of the biggest take-away menus around with home cooked meats, tilled baguettes, burgers, chicken, kebabs and everything else you can think of!

Open: Monday - Saturday.

bars&pubs

All's Well Grand Casemates Square. Tel: 72987

Traditional pub in fashionable Casemates area. Named for the 18th century practice of locking the Gates to the cit)' at night when the guard announced 'All's Well' before hand ing the keys to the watch. All's Well serves Bassbeers, wine and spirits plus pub fare. EnglLsh breakfast served all day, hotmealssuchasporkinmushroom sauce, sausage& masfi, cod and chips and steak & ale pie are complimented by a range of salad.s and filled jacket potatoes. Large terrace.

The Angry Friar

278 Main Street. Tel: 71570

The Angry Friar is everything you'd expect from a British pub, but with a large terrace. Food 9.30 - 4, 6 - 9.15 inc. breakfasts. (Sunday roasts II - 4, 6 - 9.15pm).

Open:9.30am-midnight (Sun. from llam)

Located; Opposite The Convent.

Aragon Bar

15 Bell Lane. Tel: 78855

A friendly traditional bar serving good homemade food. Outside tables available.

Open: 7 days. lO-late, fotid 10 -10.

The Cannon Bar

27 Cannon Lane. Tel: 77288

Now run by Amin, the friendly face from the kitchen for over 18 years! Good pub food served all day plus Amin makes cous cou.s or tajine to order.

Located: oft Main St at Marks & Spencer.

The Clipper

Irish Town. Tel: 79791

Large popular bar serving good homemade food from breakfasttodinner. Largevariedmenu. Topsporting events covered on overhead Ws. Private functions catered for.

Open:9.30am to midnight (Fri and Satto lam). Food served 9..30am to 10pm).

Corks Wine Bar

Irish Town. Tel: 75566

Under the new management of Neil and Gino, Corks is a

"Nvarket Taver/?

Open

Breakfasts * Lunch

Afternoon Tea (£1.99)

Vegetarian fr

Non-Vegetarian Menus

Homemade Desserts

Eat-in or Take-away 9EN9IBLE PRICE9

Outside Catering Servloe

Open: Bam - 4.30pm Monday - Friday Tet: 48014 IstHMrlCC

popular and pleasant wine bar serving an excellent range of hot and cold dishes at lunchtime (12-3pm) with daily specials. Toast, coffee and scones served 9.30-11.30am, af ternoon toasties. English breakfast. Tuesday evening is.

Curry Night,Thursday evening is Steak night

Open:9:00ani •late. Closed Sundays

Duck & Firkin

Building 6,Europort. Tel: 72745

Live football on a giant TV showing all premier league ac tion from Sky Sports plus more. Quiz machines, 2 poker machines,2pool tables. Karaoke on 2nd Saturday in month. Food served 10am - 3pm Mon-Sat.

Open:from 10am -midnight(Friday-Sat urdayllam-lam)

The Edinburgh Arms

Naval Hospital Road. Tel: 78961

When it's hot outside be cool inside! Excellent homemade food from lOam weekdays, midday weekends. Snacks/ tapas available all day. Take aways available. Sundays re lax with the Sunday papers and special brunch, Sunday roasts from October onwards. Dartboard and children's activities. Monday is prize quiz night.

Open:Mon-Thurs llam-midnight,Friday &Saturday mid day-lam, Sunday midday-6pm.

The Horseshoe

193 Main Street. Tel: 77444

Right in the centre of town,the Horseshoe is a popular,busy bar. Good menu from full English breakfast, to burgers and mixed grill.s. Curry and chilli specials on Sunday.

Open:9am to late, Sunday 10am - late.

Facilities: Main Street terrace.

The Market Tavern

Wateiport/Casemates Gates. Tel:50800

Serving good food from salads, snacks and full English breakfast (until 3pm)to burgers, toasties, curries, fish and chips, and pie, chips and gravy. Pool table upstairs. Live music Friday 9pm -late. Karaoke Wed and Sat 9pm- late.

Open:8am - late Mon - Sat,Sun 1 Oam-late.

The London Bar

76/78 Governor's Street Tel: 77172

A comfortable bar located close to the Eliott Hotel and serv ing a variety of hot and cold bar snacks such as breakfasts, sandwiches, rolls and toasties, burgers, salads, omelettes or onion ring, chips and cheese, coleslaw or beans. Terrace seating. Air conditioning.

Open:9am - midnight Mon - Sat. Closed Sundays.

Lord Nelson Bar Brasserie

10 Casemates Sq. Tel:50009 www.lordnelson.gi

E-mail: reservations@lordnelson.gi

Attractive bar/brasserie in historic Casemates building. Done out to resprescnf Nelson's ship with cloud and sky ceiling crossed with beams and sails. Spacious terrace Menu:Lunch;try the speciality mussels in white wine,gar lic and cream, or the famous fish and chips served with homemade tartar sauce. Daily specials and snacks avail able. Evening:full a lacarte including special dishes cooked at your table. Steak Diane,king prawns a la romana,crepes suzette and many more. Sunday lunch from £6.95. Credit cards accepted. Live music every weekend.

Open: from lOam till very late.

Pickwicks

Governor's Parade. Tel: 76488

Newly refurbished and run by well-known friendly face, Mandy,this small pub with a large terrace is situated in the new Theatre square away from the traffic and safe for all the family- Sometimes there's live music in the summer

months. Good food available. Private parties catered for.

Open: weekdays from 9.30am - midnight(-lam Fridays)

Location: turn off Main St at Marks & Spencer.

The Pig and Whistle Unit 18, Watergardens. Tel: 76167

A comfortable pleasant pub with pool table and terrace on the quayside. Big screen television for sporting events.

Open; 10-midnight(Fri-Sat 11-lam)

Red Lion Pub

Watergardens. Tel:44392

Pleasant recently refurbished pub in Watergardens serving all homemade food for breakfast and lunches with Sunday lunches starting soon. Plasma TV for sports fans. Open:9am - late, including Saturdays and Sundays.

The Royal Caipe

176 Main Street. Tel: 75890

Comfortable traditional bar close to the Cathedral on Main Street. Beer garden at the rear. Serving good pub food all day including breakfast, omelettes,salads,jackets, toasties and main coursessuch as curry,chilli, lasagne,scampi,burg ers and fish and chips. Kiddies menu available.

Open:9am-12 Mon - Sat,Sun Uam-lOpm.

Royal Oak Bar

59c Irish Town. Tel: 71708

Informal pub, popular for its pool table and sports talk. Outdoor seating.

Located: Irish Town, parallel to Main St.

The Star Bar Parliament Lane. Tel: 75924 Reputedly the oldest bar in Gib, this bar opens early for breakfast(English or toast & cereal). Lunch/evening menu includes fillet steak, fish and chips and salads. Kids menu 99p. Home of Mod Golf(10% discount on food for Med Members). Home of Leeds United FC supporters club.

Facilities: Outside seating.

Open:from 7am every day.

Located:first right off Main Street(walking from N to 5).

The Three Owls frish Town

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,games machines,bar — open from 10.30am daily. First floor 'Hoots' — 2 match pool ta bles, poker machines, darts board, games machine, bar open from 1pm daily. Second Floor'Nest'— American pool table, poker machine, games machine, card table, bar open from 5^m daily.

The Three Roses Governor's Street. Tel: 51614

Ann and Stuart from Scotland runs this bar,known as The Scottish Embassy, serving homemade food (until 3pm). Dartboard and pool table. Happy hours 3-7 Friday, 12-2 Saturday. Free tapas 4-6 Friday.

Open:all day,every day.

The Tunnel 8 Casemates Square. Tel: 74946 Tel/Fax:44878

Large bar located in the historic Casemates Square.

Menu: Wide variety of affordable food including Sizzling specials from 7pm. Selection of international meals,Indian specialities, vegetarian selections, homemade ice-cream. Sunday carvery served Ipm-9pm (hot & cold).

Facilities: Large terrace,big screen TVs,regular live music.

Open:7 days a week 9am - very late.

The Venture Inn

Lynch's Lane. Tel: 75776

A good central meeting place, this bar serves home-cooked food all day. Terrace seating off Main Street.

Open:from 10am

Located: Main Street near Casemates,opposite the ICC.

Wembley Bar

10 South Barrack Ramp. Tel; 7S0O4

Popular bar for hot and cold bar snacks, function room,in south district. Fridays lOam for breakfast. Air conditioned.

Open: 11am - midnight Sunday - Thursday, 10am - lam Friday, Ham - lam Saturdays.

Ye Olde Rock

John Mackintosh Square. Tel: 71604

Warm friendly pub with lots of military history in the mid dle of town. Homemade food including specials served by hosts Eaion, and Mollie. Air conditioned, terrace.

Open:from lOam 7 days a week.

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La Diva 142 Av de Espaha, La Linea

Little bar within short hop of the frontier. Ideal stop off for Spanish and English food, tapas and Sunday roasts. Great place to meet up and easy to find (on roundabout before Rocamar building). Food 12noon - 10pm.

Maharaja Restaurant & Take-away

Upper Level,Estepona Port, Spain

Good value authentic Indian food in a pleasant marina side location.

Open;7pm - midnight every day.

La Verandah Tel:(956)615998 km 135,Playa Guadiaro, Torreguadiaro,Spain.

Quality international food served in a friendly informal atmosphere. Excellent value. Log fire in winterOpen: Lunches: Saturday and Sunday only. Dinners: every day except Tuesday. Closed Tuesdays.

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From Thyme to thyme

'We became so busy that I had to take over the managementside fulltime/Steve Clayton was telling me. 'So I brought in my old friend, workmate and brilliant chef Jeff (TDonohoe to prepare the imagina tive dishes that have become our trademark.'

The first thing that strikes you as you enter thyme's patio is the radi cal new image, a bright modern chrome sign with the words'@ thyme @'sparkling over the door way.

Inside, everything has been re painted throughout, both in the downstairs cocktail lounge and upstairs in the restaurant itself, and a brand-new specially designed bar has been installed.

'The new sign is designed to re flect the evolution of thyme (now with a small 't') from when we opened it a couple of years ago,' Steve explained.'It's now well es tablished as a lively up-market bis tro-style restaurant and cocktail bar.' Stevehimself had previously established a strong reputation for his kitchen-craft, having been head chef at a leading local hotel for six years, as well as other well known establishments on the Rock.One of the other chefs he enjoyed working with most was the aforementioned Jeff O'Donohoe. Originally from north Wales but also well experi enced in Gibraltar's restaurants and hotels, Jeff was delighted when Steve asked him to take over the cooking at thyme.And how he has taken over.'Everything is made on the premises,'Jeff told me,'and that includes the bread,the desserts and even the chocolate that goes with your coffee. Absolutely nothing is bought in ready-made, and I will only use fresh ingredients. It's sat isfying, because the customers no tice the difference straight away.'

Originally a big hit with young professionals, especially those working in the gaming industry, thyme'sfame hasspread and its cli entele now includes an increasing number of local people.'They have discovered us as the perfect place for special celebrations,'said Steve. 'That can take the form of a group simply booking some tables and ordering a la carte or they can book the whole restaurant witii a special menu laid on for them.' He told me that a few nights earlier a UK in

surance company had booked the whole restaurant for two nights running, with 42 guests on each evening, although the restaurant seats 70 in comfort. 'We're now ready for Christmas bookings,' he added.

One of the attractions of thyme for parties — as well as for a regu lar night out — is that the cocktail bar is exceptionally comfortable, with armchairs and sofas set in groups around coffee tables. The ambience is more that of a well run modem hotel than the average pub.

The style and the quality of the food has worked well, with the res taurant making sure that celebra tions go with a swing almost every night from Monday to Thursday.

Fridays bow to tradition with a Happy Hour from 7 to 8, during which time all bar drinks, as well as being at Happy Hour prices, are accompanied by free canapes such as risotto balls, scallops, prawns, patd and so on.

On Saturdays, there is music from the guitar and voice of Sarah

Howard, whose sweet tones have become a major attraction in the cocktail bar, with people coming specially to hear her.

You can just pop in for a cocktail in comfort, but the restaurant isn't to be missed. It serves what Steve described as Fusion Food. This, 1 learnt, is a mix of New World and Asian (including Thai)recipes that are skilfully combined to comple ment each other — hence the term 'fusion', 'People are amazed at the taste,' said Steve.'Everyone keeps telling me it's unique to Gibraltar,.. so much flavour'

The regular menu — backed up by the Daily Specials Board — has such starters as Brochette of Andalusian-style King Prawns & chorizo with curried slaw; or Crispy-fried Thai-spiced monkfish with roquet, sweet chilli jam & creme fraiche; or you might go for the Seafood slammer, a great way of tasting seven samples from the main menu. Starters range from £4.50 to £12, and half of them are available as main courses.

Main courses — nine in total on the regular menu — include Panroasted lamb's loin with parsnip mash,red wine,rosemary and gar lic jus; Moroccan spiced caramel ised chicken,tabbouleh,spiced on ion and sultana chutney; Honeyroast duck breast, charred aspara gus, red onion tatin, chocolate and orange sauce. There is also thyme's fish & chips, with home-made chips,John Dory in tempura batter, tomato and landcress salad and tartare sauce.'Jeff's fish and chips with a difference are the most popular item on the menu,' Steve told me.The nine mains range from £10 to £20, and there is an equally impressive desserts and dessertcocktails menu as well as an enor mous global wine list — 43choices including champagne from £18 to £110.

Bookings are highly advisable to avoid disappointment at this bright and friendly international-standard restaurant sitting snugly at5 Corn wall's Lane,by the Cornwall's Cen tre. It's open from noon to lam (bar), 12.30 to 3.00 and 7.30 to late (restaurant), Mondays to Satur days, except there is only evening opening on Saturdays.

The number for bookings and celebrations — especially Christ mas — is 49199.

New image, new chef, but the same owner/manager and the same celebrated food. That's "thyme".

The style and the quality ofthe food has worked well,with the restaurant making sure that ceiehratious go with a swing

Around Town...

ell it's hard to believe but this issue of The Gibraltar Magazine is in fact thelOth anniversary issue, and that means that 1 have sat down and written immortal words for this column 110 times. If! had a pound for every time I've walked up and down Main Street in rain or shine I would be a multi-millionaire by now and I'd never need to do it again. But to be absolutely honest I still enjoy a daily march around town, you meet so many fascinating characters and every one of them has a story to tell. Over the last 10 years I've heard so many of those sto ries, and some of the funniest I've shared with you all. For instance, just what was Lorna Swift doing marching along with two empty ba nana boxes? I fear we shall never know. So as it is our 10th anniversary edition I've had a look back over the last decade and searched through some of our past issues just to remind myself of the crazy antics of a few of the heroes and lunatics who have graced this column over the years.

Most Coveted Membership

The "Bad Leg club" now has so many members that if you laid them all out end to end I'm sure they would encircle the Rock at least once. One of my all time favourites was young Andrew Reed who during what must have been a night to remember ended up on crutches after an exhibition of exotic dancing that must have been a show stopper.I'm only sorry I wasn't there to see it. Butthe real Queen of the"Bad Leg Club" and my all time favourite was none other than Miss Jane Edwards, wine connoisseur and regular contributor to this maga zine. 1 can't remember exactly how it happened but I'm sure it was the result t>l a good night out but what 1 can recall and will never forget is how I found out about the mishap. I had been visiting a friend in St. Bernard's and wasjust leaving when an ambulance roared up and the back doors flew open and outcame a stretcher with Jane on it, the look on her face when she saw me was priceless — if only I had my camera with me, what a picture 1 would have, and do you know what she said?

"Am I in the Bad Leg Club now?" What a star. Even this month there's one new member — none other than Mandy Quick who I bumped into recently limping along on crutches wearing a very natty line in pink socks after an operation on her foot. But 10 out of 10 for Mandy who was on her way to register for the Walk for Life which took place on 8th October. For obvious reasons Mandy couldn't take part this year but she was there in spirit and did register so, for the crutches and bravery for the char ily, Mandy becomes the latest member of the "Bad Leg . ^ Club".

DIY Disasters

Now I never claim to be one of the world's great DIYers but when forced I have a go with the old paint brush and whenever I do it's amazing how many experts there arc

Golcli""

Some golden memories are a result of thines th^t inct ^ u some people.... like Mandy of Pickwicks who Ihouehl siu-'d^,h '''PP'"

Danger Men

Congratulations Chris ar^ Jane

Smith ofSmiths Fis^h V Chfp shop wis mbbed bv i Lne T' Phil his bag offoma.„es7 Then these was Mike Clack wl® J,knoctdt® "bfaT^cl'S his

r sr?

car radio was playing so burnt '"'8 "raise o,tis

Star Acts

Over the years there have been some great characters who scrazy antics have amused meso much-none mom

Phir'^L T"m' chuhby little hero, "Big U h n'f who bit himself on the back-side 'ThM hir safetv, Neil ' Cat , Sparky and many more. Thanksfor the laughs sIIItrr■ ^

can t finish without wishing a happy November birthday to Barbara Dunn Wendy, Amber,jayne, Ben, Dave bvans Ray Langham, Judy Whurr, Sally of Wvse Hire,Big Bill,Tmvor and last but not least He^di Uwer a iva"l

^■^hael on the ^.n? I habydaughterSadie Louiseproud grandpar ents, John and Sue Hand, and well done to Robbie the painter who tell off his ladder and ended up wHh his arm in plasterbutcarriedon paintingwith hisotherhand.

Size Matters

Finally he tells me that he's got the biggest on the WL^'1 Ik T TVsemens UL re talking about and Nigel ofthe Wembley Barhas got11)ust in case the "Mighty Orient", prideoftheFast End, are featured on the TV soon and they should be three and heading for promotion in our 10th anniver sary year. "Come on you O's". 'annivcr

Hope you've enjoyed the first 10 years of the Gib Magasmuchastheteamherehave. Seeyouon Main Street.

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Natural History £t Heritage Park

Omission 9.30am to 7pm by tickets(includes entrance to sites within the Park includ ing St. Michael's Cave. MonTy's DeT, Great Siege Tunnels, Military Heritage Centre, A City Under Siege' Exhi bition and Moorish Castle).(Facilities closed Christmas Day and New Year's Day) Adults £7/Children 5-12 years: £4, Children age 4 and under free, vehicles £1.50. Private ve hicles may be restricted at certain times and it is advisable to take a Rock Tour by taxi/ mini bus. The Natural History 6 Heritage Park can also be reached by cable car (leaves Grand F^rade9.30am-5.15pm Mon day to Sunday. Last cable down: 5.45pm).

Ihe flora and fauna on the

Upper Rock are considered to be of great conservational value. It's a perfect place for hers, as migratory species use Gi braltar as the shortest crossing between Eu rope and Africa, but botanists will also be interested to see over 600 species of flow ering plants, including some unique to Gi braltar. Watch out for colourful lizards, the notvvenemous Horseshoe Whipsnake, but terflies and pipistrelle bats. Info on the Rock's flora and fauna is found at the Gi braltar 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 audito rium 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.

The Great Siege Tunnels: Tunnelling in the Rock began during the Great Siege(17791783) when France and Spain made an at tempt to recapture the Rock while Britain was busy with the American War of Inde pendence. Governor General Elliot offered a reward to any man who could tell him how to mount a gun on the north face of the Rock. It was a Sgt, Major Ince who sug gested tunnelling and there are now over 30 miles of tunnels inside the Rock with various exhibitions inside the tunnels.

Ths Military Heritage Centre: Housed in one of the Rock's many historic batteries, the Military Heritage Centre displays infor mation on the development of Gibraltar's military defences through the ages.

(tstory Ainm

A City Under Siege Exhibition: Exhibits depicting the lives of the 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 failing asleep, is still vis ible, 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 Gibral tar in 71 IAD by Tarik-ibn-Zeyad ("Gibraltar* is a corruption of the Arabic words "Jebel Tarik" - Tank's mountain). The part we see today. The Tower of Homage, dates back to 1333AD, when Abu'l Hassan recaptured the Rock from Spain. The tower is an ex cellent view point.

Natural History 6 Heritage Park Walks: The recommended walk is St Michael's Cave through to Charles V Wall but walk ers should be relatively fit. It is also pleas ant walking along the upper rock roads. Fact Files and brochures are available free from all Tourist Board offices.

Botanical Gardens: Opened in 1816, the Alameda Botanical Gardens fell into disre pair but are currently being restored to their former glory. Visitors can enjoy a stroll be neath pines, dragon trees and palms, and see many of Gibraltar's native plants as well as exotic species. The shop sells environ mentally friendly gifts, plants and seeds. Tel: 72639/74022. Large car park available.

Nelson's Anchorage: Rosia Road 9.30am - 5.15pm Monday to Saturday(last entry at 5pm). Closed on Sunday. Admission; £1.00 (free of charge with Nature Reserve ticket. Tickets for the nature reserve can also be bought at this attraction).

Parson's Lodge: Rosia Road. A narrow limestone outcrop with a labyrinth of un derground tunnels surmounted by an im pressive battery, which has witnessed the development of coast artillery over 300 years. Once housed three 18 ton 10-inch rifled muzzle loaders positioned behind a unique sandwich of armour plate and teak, known as 'Gibraltar Shields'. Open 10am to 6pm every day except Mondays. Adults £2/Children & OAPs £1. Cafeteria on site

Flat Bastion Magazine Flat Bastion Road.

Geological Research Station and Lithology of Gibraltar, To visit please contact: F. Gomez Tel.44460. P HodkinsonTel.43910

Shrine of Our Lady of Europe (Museum within premises) Europa Road. 10am-7pm Monday to Friday, 11am-7pm Saturday, Sun day and Public Holidays. Closed 1pm-2pm. Trafalgar Cemetery; Trafalgar Road, open 9am - 7pm daily(admission free).

General Information

Gibraltar Museum Tel: 74289

18/20 Bomb House Lane Open 10am -6pm (Sat. 10am - 2pm|. Closed on Sunday. Ad

mission: Adults £2/Children under 12 years

£1. Special exhibitions also held at museum premises in Casemates gallery.

Registry Office Tel: 72289

It is possible to get married on the Rock within 48 hours of arrival. A fact taken ad vantage of by stars such as Sean Connery and John Lennon.

Rock Tours by Taxi Tel: 70052

As well as offering normal fares. Gibraltar taxis provide a complete Rock Tour 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.

Tourist Board Tel: 74950

Gibraltar National Tourist Board, Arundel Court. 179 Strand. London Tel; 0207 836 0777 Fax: 0207 240 6612 E-mail; gtblondon@aol.com

John Mackintosh Hall Tel: 75669 Centre of Gib's cultural life, includes a caf eteria, theatre, exhibition rooms and library. 308 Main Street 9.30am - 11pm Monday to Friday. Closed weekends.

Cruiaa Ship Schedule October 2005

Total number of vessels scheduled to call in 2005 is 176. Total number of passengers scheduled to visit in 2005 is 195.372

Sat 1 Saga Ruby 1100-1900 Saga 665 capac ity from Lisbon to Civitavecchia

Wed 5 Aquamarine 1500-1900 Louis Cruise Line

1012 capacity from Tangier to Ibiza

Ocean tvlonarch 0900-1300 ftge&(*/oy 440 ca pacity from Casablanca to Marseille

Voyager lOCO-1330 Iberojet 836 capacity

Thu6 Aurora 0800-1300 P &01975capacity from Southampton to Messina

Fri 7 Black Prince 1400- 2300 Fred Olsen 450 capacity from Ibiza to Vigo

Sat 8 Costa Romantica 1300-2000 Costa 1356

capacity

Tue 11 Seadream I 1700-2359 Seadream Cruises

110 capacity

Wed 12 Aquamarine 1500-1900 Louis Cruise Line

1012 capacity Tangier to Ibiza

Saga Rose 1200-2359 SAGA618c3pacityfrom Southampton to Palma

Thu 13 Oceana 1300- 1700P & 0 1950 capacity from Civitavecchia to Southampton

Van Gogh 0700-1230 Travelscope 500 capacity from Cadiz to Tangier

Sun 16 Island Escape 0800-1500 Island Cruises

1512 capacity from Cadiz to F^lma

Tue ISQucen Elizabeth 20700-1200Cunard 1778 capacity from Southampton to Barcelona Artemis 0830-ISOOPE01200capacityAjaccioSouthampton

Wed 19 Aquamarine 1500-1900 Louis Cruise Line

1012 capacity from Tangier to Ibiza

Fri 21 Crystal Serenity 0900-2000 Crystal 1080 capacity from Villefranche to Malaga

Mon 24 Westerdam 1200-1800 Holland America

1848 capacity from Civitaveccliia to Cadiz

Set 29 Saga Ruby 0700-1300 Saga 665 capac

ity from Syracuse to Lisbon

Seabourn Legend 1330-1800 Seabourn 212 ca pacity from Alicante to Malaga

Mon 31 Aurora 1300-1800 P &0 1975 capacity

Irom Palma to Southampton

Thomson Celebration 0900-2000 Thomson

Cruises 1214 capacity from Cadiz to Casablanca

Business Information

Gibialtat Financial Services Commission Tel: 40283/4 website: www.fsc.gi

Chamber of Commerce Tel; 78376

Federation Small Businesses Tel: 47722

Company Registry Tei: 78193 Customs Tel: 78879

Dept of Trade6 Industry Tel: 52052

Conference Facilities:

Hotel Tel: 76501

70500

Public Holidays 2005/2006

Every Saturday morrting the Rock s past is brought alive by a troop of soldiers in 18th century period uniform. The soldiers march from Bomb House Lane at 12 noon to Casemates. At Casemates ifiey carry out a "Ceremony of the Keys" and then march back up Main Street to the Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned.

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