The Gibraltar Magazine - June 2015 by Rock Publishing Ltd

the gibraltar magazine

June 2015 Vol. 20 # 08 FREE

20 # 08 June 2015

Prince of the Paparazzi - Juan Carlos Teuma

Test of Endurance - Triathletes

Travel Diaries - Washington DC

Our Microclimate - Levanter

Exploring Food - South Eastern Asia

Open for Business through the summer

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editor’s note

JUNE ISSUE W

elcome to our next month’s edition, bringing you phase one of the new design. Within the June issue, we worked on the style and overall appearance of the magazine, splitting content into new, more welcoming categories ‘News, Business, Life, Scene and Leisure’. This has been the first stage to cementing our own style and fresh brand. Also, check out our new logo; a change that the magazine hasn’t seen in twelve years! The new design is much more fitting for the direction we’re taking the magazine and even incorporates a very subtle Gibraltarian emblem. Can you spot it? We’re also stepping up our online presence, posting frequently on our Facebook and Twitter. In the very near future, we will be working on our website, making all the magazine content plus more available to those who are unable to pick up a physical copy every month. As always, you can read it in a pdf format on www. thegibraltarmagazine.com. We understand how important it is to move forwards with the online market and maintain a digital presence so you can follow us at facebook. com/gibmag and @gibmag on twitter.

his month, the pages are jam packed with engaging content, including our cover star, Gibraltarian Juan Carlos Teuma whose career as a professional paparazzi once made him over £100,000 on a single 4

photograph. His story (p35) is remarkably interesting; one of shy celebrities and the glamorous Marbella of the 1980s. Another extraordinary Gibraltarian featured in June is Professor Charles Ramirez, whose love of music has heavily impacted his life (p49).

for other artists to work in and get to know each other (p61). We also delve into the underground world of house music with local independent record label Cliché (p57), and gigging with La Sala’s resident vocalist Zoe Louise (p53).

The news category has been condensed into a comprehensive newspaper style section at the beginning of the magazine, helping you keep up to date with current affairs and all the goings on in Gibraltar. This month, the Miss Gibraltar 2015 rehearsals are extremely topical (p8).

Ian Le Breton is back, and this time he’s discussing how he won’t be winding down for the summer, but instead, how business significantly increases throughout the muggy months of June, July and August (p17). Speaking of muggy, meteorologist Steph Ball delves into the microclimate levanter phenomenon that plagues Gibraltar frequently (p41).

Summer is fast approaching and thus we have been talking about travel destinations! There are some incredible travel stories featured this month, from interning in Washington DC (p69), through taking a motorbike tour of Vietnam (p73), to experimenting with cuisine in India (p77). Gibraltarians have had some remarkable experiences in far reaching corners of the World. Summer events pick up significantly this month, and with the Gibraltarian staple ‘Calentita Food Festival’ (p79) coming up, we’ve explored some of the Rock’s cuisines and cultures. All of this can be found in Leisure.

As always we’re very keen to hear what you have to say about the magazine, its content and anything you think might be worth covering for a future edition so please email me on anna@ thegibraltarmagazine.com to let us know what you think about our new style!

Anna

‘Scene’ explores a variety of local talent within the arts industry. We speak to artist Stefano Blanca Sciacaluga, who took on his own seismic project, offering up a space GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

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The project massively appealed to the Little Constellation Network, which brings together geo-political micro areas in Europe, under the context of contemporary art. They initiated the Listen to the Sirens Space in the Montagu Bastion, and took note of Stefano’s plea for an unconventional space to work in. It certainly ties in with the Mantra of Premium door-to-door delivery for document shipments by yourListen choicetoof 9:00hrs the Sirens, which is described as ‘a an exhibition or 12:00hrs on the next possible business day from Gibraltar to all major programme based on continuous dialogue between the artists of European business centres, or by 10:30hrs to New York.* the Little Constellation network and artists live and work in Gibraltar.’ For further information please contact: DHL Gibraltar, Unit who 36 Harbours Deck,

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One huge advocate of the project was artist Alan Perez who used the space to work on a project relating to the 75th anniversary of the evacuation. From the perspective of someone who is well known and respected on the local art scene, having won many awards in local competitions, Alan praised the 2

contents the gibraltar magazine

June 2015 Vol. 20 # 08 FREE

8 In the News Finance, Business, Property 17 21 25 27 29 31 33

Open for Business – Winding down for the summer? KPMG eSummit - Where is the gaming industry going Keith Azopardi – Revolutionising the legal profession Trust Crusaders – Preserving family wealth Benefits of Mentoring Jason Smart – CEO for the Elite Group of companies Ocean Village – Why would you live there?

Life

20 # 08 June 2015

Prince of the Paparazzi - Juan Carlos Teuma

Test of Endurance - Triathletes

Travel Diaries - Washington DC

Our Microclimate - Levanter

Exploring Food - South Eastern Asia

Open for Business through the summer

20 # 08 June 2015 Cover: Juan Carlos Teuma Correction: In the May Edition of the Gibraltar Magazine, we quoted the Gibraltar International Bank’s CEO as saying: ‘We want people to feel that we know them by name. This will be traditional banking with a modern feel.’ This was, in fact, a quote by the Chief Operating Officer whose name is Derek Sene, and not Derek Cano as previously stated. The Gibraltar Magazine is published monthly by Rock Publishing Ltd Portland House, Suite 4, Glacis Road, Gibraltar T: (+350) 20077748 | E: info@thegibraltarmagazine.com Copyright © 2015 Rock Publishing Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without written consent of The Gibraltar Magazine.

www.TheGibraltarMagazine.com

Magazine & website archived by the British Library

@gibmag

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

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

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

Email: info@thegibraltarmagazine.com Tel: 200 77748 GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

35 39 41 45 47 49

Prince of the Paparazzi – Juan Carlos Teuma Gavin Sacarello – A Pilot’s profile Our Microclimate – Gibraltar in all weathers Gibraltar & Newfoundland – Two rocks and an ocean Distinct Culture – Do we have one? Prof Charles Ramirez - Love of Music

Scene 53 57 61 63 65

Zoe Louise – A soundtrack to your happiest moments Cliché & House Music – Building a movement Kitchen Exhibition – Calling all arty types Land Escapist – Albert Danino Drama Queen – Karen Lawson

Leisure 67 69 73 77 79 81 83 85

Test of Endurance – Gibraltar’s Triathletes Washington DC – Monumentally good time Travelling & Blogging - Backpacking through Asia The Banana Pancake Trail – Savouring Southeast Asia Nation of Gourmands – Calentita 2015 Food Revolution – Teaching the values of Nutrition Wine Column - Drink Pink this Summer Coffee Time

86 Directories and Guides Editor: Anna Kolesnik anna@thegibraltarmagazine.com Head Journalist: Nicole Macedo nicole@thegibraltarmagazine.com Distribution: Jordan Brett jordan@thegibraltarmagazine.com Accounts: Paul Cox paul@thegibraltarmagazine.com 7

news

Rehearsals 2015 commence

nother year, another Miss Gibraltar pageant… Another handful of eager contestants looking to build bonds with each other and take on a challenge dissimilar to anything they’ve done before. It has now come around to my era of contestants, and I can recall most of them from my school year. The competition has never been one that I have even remotely considered entering, but when master of ceremonies for this year’s pageant, Christian Santos explains to me why he encourages girls to sign-up, I unexpectedly find myself doubting my judgement. ‘Doing anything that makes you work towards a goal is always a positive thing; be it winning Miss Gibraltar, writing a book, producing a dance or getting a career in medicine. It’s always something that makes you work in a positive way on yourself. The pageant is one of the things where you get to go on stage, you get to wear nice clothes… it’s really good for your self-esteem. You become a more confident person because you learn so much about yourself that you are able to express yourself. You learn skills that a lot of girls who have been through the process say help for jobs and interviews in the future, like how to present themselves in a more positive way.’ The seven contestants; number one Jade Pau, number two Bianca Pisharello, number three Ashleen Snape, number four Hannah Bado, number five Melanie Lett, number six Adrienne Rumbo and number seven Natalia Nuñez, have been in rehearsal for the show for a month. The first few meetings were crucial for developing those friendly, competitive bonds between them. 2014 winner Shyanne Azzopardi insists

GIBRALTAR 1 MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

that the girls will make friendships that she has no doubt will last forever. Having attended the Mayor’s reception in April, during which the girls chose the numbers they would parade in on the pageant night, Shyanne spoke of the amazing experience she’s undergone. ‘Honestly, I’m speechless. It’s been a year since I chose my contestant number, which was contestant number five. Seeing the girls this year doing exactly the same goes to show how quickly a year goes by!’ During her tenure, Shyanne worked tirelessly raising funds for local charities including the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Support Group. ‘It’s fantastic thinking back on what I’ve done. I’ve done so much for myself and for Gibraltar and I’m just really proud of what I’ve achieved in such a short space of time, working closely with the community and certain charities. I’ve enjoyed myself to the fullest and cannot say I regret anything.’ Any advice for this year’s contestants? Shyanne nods; ‘it would certainly be to enjoy the rehearsals to the fullest, because once you look back, the show is just one night but the rehearsals make the show so special. Take each opportunity that comes your way and enjoy the time you have together.’

The lead up to the pageant, which will be held in early July at the Alameda Open Air Theatre, sees the girls rehearse their walking and routines and prepare for the interview category of the show. They are also involved in promotional photo shoots and gatherings, and planned nights out to help them get to know each other in a more relaxed environment. Christian insists that the girls are working hard on themselves by focusing on how to do better in their interview, and training physically. ‘It’s a really good, positive group of girls that seem to be doing the right things to get ready for the pageant.’ With regards to the pageant itself Christian’s vision is a modern one: ‘I want to make it very vibrant, youthful, energetic… I want to make the girls feel really empowered and feminine in a strong way. I want to make them very current. I want them to have great interviews and present them in a way that they are comfortable in themselves and portray confidence in general.’ The Miss Gibraltar Pageant will be held on the 4th July in the Alameda Gardens Open Air Theatre.

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015 2

news

Sunborn Casino launched

he newest feature to launch aboard the Sunborn Gibraltar, five star super yacht hotel, is the casino, run by Finnish Åland Islands state owned gaming operator ‘Paf’. The merging of the two Finnish companies will allow for ‘a strong platform to establish an international casino business in Gibraltar,’ commented Sunborn Executive Director Hans Niemi. Offering quintessential casino games American Roulette, Blackjack, Punto Banco, Stud Poker and slot machines between 4pm and 4am, the venue has a dress code requirement of ‘smart casual’. The Sunborn Casino is fully licensed by the Gibraltar Licensing Authority, having opened its doors on April 29th. Players are offered tableside drink services, a membership programme that accumulates points, and the latest in gaming revolution, as well as the opportunity to rent out VIP private gaming suites fitted with a terrace and Jacuzzi. The loyalty programme offers regular players the opportunity to accumulate points by playing the casino games. Points will award players with food from the bar menu, dinner at the Sky restaurant, spa vouchers, overnight stays in the hotel and other gifts from the Casino. Paf Finnish operators Paf boasts an extraordinarily background of creating profit to support international causes and promote charity. In the 1980s, they almost monopolized the gambling industry that existed on ferries and other ships in the Baltic Sea. During the decade they also took on their first international venture operating gaming onboard the Viking 6 in the English Channel. The company has donated over €150 million to good causes over its lifetime. They are now

First spin: Hans Niemi, Ian Radford, David Bentley, Dominick Stenson

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

internationally renown, also having been named the gaming industry’s ‘Most Responsible Operator online’ by international trade magazine eGaming Review. Paf CEO, Anders Ingves, believes that the partnership between the operator and Sunborn Gibraltar signifies that ‘Paf’s land-based activities are now taking a big and exciting step into Europe, just like Paf online. Our hope is that our nearly 50year experience in the gaming industry combined with Sunborn’s knowledge of the international hotel industry, will contribute to a unique casino experience.’ The Casino was officially launched last month, with a spectacular evening of revel for a host of local and VIP guests, including Chesterton’s Mike Nicholls, who chronicled his evening: ‘The invitation promised a “Grand Opening” and a grand opening it was. Having read on GBC News on the day that 2,500 guests were expected at the official launch of Gibraltar’s newest casino, expectation was for a few canapés, warm cava, speeches muffled by inadequate speakers and a polite exit to a nearby bar with the rest of our Chesterton gang. How wrong we were! Initially shown to the casino, it is difficult not to be impressed with the style and décor of this latest opening on board the Sunborn. Although the area set aside for the slot machines reminds me of upgraded amusement arcades I visited as a child on seaside holidays in England, the slots are popular and profitable. They are there in abundance, so they must work for provider and punter alike. The fun part for me was the main gaming area, a plush expanse of roulette and card tables with an attractive looking cocktail bar, the latter getting my vote.

Sunborn Stud Poker

Guests were invited to the grand ballroom on the lower deck for some culinary delights from the Sunborn chefs. We were not disappointed. With a complimentary bar adjacent to the buffet this was shaping up to be a good night. The speech from the casino operator, PAF was enlightening. PAF originates from the Åland islands, an archipelago made up of over 6,500 islands and skerries with a population of just 27,500. Åland is an autonomous, demilitarised and predominantly Swedishspeaking region of Finland. But that’s where northern European influence ended.

On came the ‘Rat Pack’, Frank, Sammy and Dean from Marbella, with a seven piece band much to the delight of invited guests from Gibraltar, Marbella, UK, Finland and of course the Åland islands. All the old favourites were brilliantly performed live including Mr Bojangles, It Was A Very Good Year and My Way. The final curtain was New York New York with the entire audience up on their feet, arm in arm, kicking along. This could have been New York, or London, yet it was Gibraltar, in an exquisite setting. And this month Lisa, our head of marketing, deserves a mention, because she went home £300 richer, thanks to 31 black.’

Marbella Big Band and Showgirls

news

Gibraltar Festival for Young Musicians winners

llegro Music Productions’ annual Gibraltar Festival for Young Musicians impressed its extensive audience during last month’s Gala concert, through a display of performances by skilled young musicians. Performances were adjudicated over the weekend of 8th – 11th May by Dr. Douglas Coombes, who described the variety of classes as ‘excellent’ and ‘quite impressive’, adding that the overall performances were much appreciated by large audiences.

instrumentalist under eighteen’ Javier Serrano Santaella, Charles Gomez & Co trophy and £300 bursary ‘most promising junior under twelve’ Luke McCullough, EY Trophy and £300 bursary ‘most promising instrumentalist under eighteen’ Ignacio Canto Lazaro and Gibraltar Young Musician of the Year Trophy and cash prize winner of £500 Oliver Barrass.

Finally, the Hassans Shield and £600 bursary for ‘the most promising musician under eighteen’ was presented to Darius Oliva, the Momy Levy 10th Anniversary Trophy for ‘the adjudicator’s choice’ was awarded to Jasmine and Johan Mahtani and the Elena Cobb Jazz Trophy for the ‘most promising Jazz performer’ was presented to Karizma Daswani and Renna Nagrani.

The concert also featured performances by guests Andrea Simpson, and pianist Liz Heath, who performed three songs written by Allegro’s patron Albert Hammond. Winners were vast, with the Chief Minister’s Trophy for ‘the most promising school ensemble’ being awarded to St. Joseph’s Middle School for their ‘highly entertaining and energetic performance, with plenty of rhythmic variety’. The William Gomez Guitar Trophy, presented for ‘the most promising guitarist’ was awarded to Izan Guerrero Caravaca for rising ‘to the challenges set by the composer’. The Tere Facio Memorial Trophy for ‘the most promising vocalist’ was awarded to Faith Scruton White whilst the ‘most promising woodwind instrumentalist under eighteen’, Maria Santos Floriano, was awarded the Valmar Clinic Trophy. Most promising pianist under twelve, Aryan Dhanwani, won the Sapphire Trophy for their ‘truly delightful performance’. The Masbro Trophy for ‘most promising pianist under eighteen’ was presented to Jose Partal Escalona, the open category Mahtani Charitable Trust Trophy was awarded to Jasmine Mahtani and Grace Ferrary, and the Momy Levy Trophy for ‘the most promising brass instrumentalist under eighteen’ was presented to Eduardo Jaen Romero. Winner of the Gibmaroc Trophy, Ana Sharma was praised as the ‘most promising vocalist under eighteen’ and Gibair Trophy winner, Amparo Gata Diaz was dubbed ‘the most promising adult perfomer’. Further winners included: Khubchand £100 Bursary ‘most vibrant vocalist’ Elisha Lang, Castiel Winser Trophy and £300 bursary ‘most promising string

Ramparts launches new branch in Manchester

ibraltar based European law firm Ramparts last month announced the opening of a UK office in Manchester. The move will help to develop new client and business partner relationships, promote the UK and Gibraltar as European business centres of excellence and integrity, attracting potential investors and clients in the EU, and provide additional support for existing clients who do business involving the UK. The mantra behind the new branch is to bring benefits and added exposure to the Rock. The opening of the Manchester office also contributes to Ramparts’ expansion as a European firm. The UK was the firm’s first choice given the political, legal and historic closeness between the Rock and the UK. The move will surely aid in their European expansion strategy.

Providing support for clients in financial services, electronic commerce and technology sectors, Ramparts’ clients include entrepreneurs, early stage innovation companies and publicly listed multi nationals. Founder and Director of Ramparts, Peter Howitt believes that a UK presence is important, given how much cross-border legal work they carry out in Europe and the UK. He added, ‘Manchester has a proud commercial history and is undergoing a period of significant business expansion; it is also becoming a second UK centre for innovative e-commerce companies including new FinTech businesses. Manchester makes sense for us and as with Gibraltar, we will work to ensure that we can be part of the continued success of Manchester.’

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

news

Local dancers in international workshops

series of dance workshops will be carried out by Errol White and Davina Givan of the Errol White Dance Company, early this month. The dance company seeks to produce unique dance works with an emphasis on authentic movement vocabulary and how the body’s vocabulary can be used as an abstract language.

Those taking part on 6th & 7th June, at the Tercentenary Sports Hall, will work on creative work, choreography and company class. The sessions will build upon participants’ existing dance skills and experience, and offer opportunities to explore a range of ideas through creative, contemporary dance. Class work will focus on skeletal alignment; articulate placement and core stability. Errol and Davina will lead the dancers to move fluidly with precision, power and strength facilitating a neutral and controlled understanding of the body’s physicality in performance. These classes provide an invaluable opportunity for the participants to fully concentrate on their own physicality. The Gibraltar National Dance Organistion, who orchestrated the workshops, expects over 150 dancers to participate. Day long workshops with classes in Modern and Contemporary Dance will be adapted to the students’ abilities so that they can perform in front of an audience of dance teachers, parents and friends. The workshops are open to young students of all abilities aged seven onwards.

Scouts volunteers rewarded for distinguished service

Elio Cohen, the lead volunteer at the 5th Gibraltar Sea Scouts, was honoured with The Scout Association’s Silver Acorn, to thank him for his distinguished service to his Group. Last year, Tony Galliano and Pepe Barea both received the same award also for their services to Gibraltar Scouts over many years. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

ocal photographer and author, David Parody, has just revealed the fourth in a line of children’s books written by him, and illustrated by local artist and photographer, Stephen Ignacio. ‘Belle the Blackbird’ follows the parents of a baby blackbird, and their endeavors to help her fly and catch worms. Dreamed up from his children’s surroundings, David told his toddler Sienna the stories whilst teaching her to use the potty. The book is aimed at children aged two to five years. As are his other books, ‘Terry the Terrier and the Mystery of the Missing Bone’, ‘Berta the Lazy Bee’ and ‘Sienna Flies her Kite’. The other tales incorporate other original characters including Sienna herself, Terry, an absent minded terrier who can’t remember where he hid his bone, and Berta the bee, who prefers eating honey to making it. The books can be purchased on Amazon. co.uk or direct from the printers at tinyurl. com/belleblackbird. Details can also be found on Facebook facebook.com/ BelleBertaandTerry. The author will donate a copy of each of the book to the John Mackintosh Library.

dult volunteers for the Gibraltar Scouts Association were recently honoured last month for their hard work and excellent service to the Gibraltar Scouts. Scouting in Gibraltar offers challenge, discipline, adventure and friendship to over three hundred youngsters across Gibraltar.

Local photographer publishes new children’s book

The awards were handed out at Windsor Castle in the UK during the ‘UK National Scout Service and Parade of Queen’s Scouts’ by an International Commissioner. Offering over 200 different activities from abseiling and archery to drama, street sports and water zorbing, Scouting helps 6-25 year olds grow in confidence, achieve their full potential and become active members of their community.

Belle the Blackbird Story by David M Parody Illustrations by Stephen Ignacio Edited by Isabella Guillem Published by : DM Parody 2015

news

Evacuation exhibition honours a generation

ver 500 photographs were placed on display as part of the 75th anniversary of the wartime evacuation of civilians from Gibraltar, last month. The exhibition, entitled ‘Honouring a generation’, was launched by Deputy Chief Minister and historian Dr. Joseph Garcia who insisted that ‘it was only fitting for the Government to honour those who took part, and the memory of those who are no longer with us.’ Government Archivist Anthony Pitalugo headed the exhibition, with the help of the staff at the archives, and Joe Gingell who provided the photographs for the display. The exhibition also featured original evacuation material, sealed inside display cabinets, and a 1940s kitchen, of the kind used by evacuees. The display further included an interactive computer display for visitors to search for themselves or family members, to retrieve their evacuation data. Running from Tuesday 12th May – Thursday 28th May, local band Mount Opera launched the initiative with a performance of contemporary 1940s songs, along with recordings of interviews with former evacuees discussing their experiences. The anniversary commemorations also included a lecture by Dr Suzanne FrancisBrown, the Curator of the Museum of the University of the West Indies entitled “Gibraltar Camp 1940-1947: Isolation and Interaction in Colonial Jamaica”.

World heritage status pending

ibraltar’s application for World Heritage Status is widely known information, however the extent of work done by the Gibraltar Museum team in the bid for World Heritage Status is remarkably underrated. In an effort to engage the public on the matter, a lecture was hosted last month outlining the Museum’s bid for the site, which covers much of the southern side of the Rock. The site includes the Mediterranean Steps, right up to the summit of the Rock. The bid is mainly centered around Gorham’s and Vanguard’s Caves with an emphasis on Neanderthal and other historical revelations that have come to light during the excavation of the area. In order to be put forward for the bid, the party submitting the application must adhere to a stringent checklist, put to them by UNESCO. Gibraltar’s site was accepted under the UK, as their bid for this year, after they invited sites to put forward an application. The Rock was one of eleven other sites to have been recruited under the UK. All sites put forward are put through an external evaluation, which is carried out by advisory bodies; The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This will include heavy scrutiny of the extensive four volume proposal the Gibraltar Museum has put forward. If the site passes this stage, a physical inspection will be carried out later in the year by a panel of experts. This could include a public consultation, which is precisely why the Museum team is keen to inform the public and get them on board with the bid; after all, it will be them who benefit from being awarded the World Heritage Status. With the status comes added positive value and privilege for the Gibraltar brand, economic improvements, with the possible

Cliff stabilisation 12

creation of jobs and tourism opportunities. It would also be a source of social and community engagement. The process is a tedious one that the Gibraltar Museum team has carried out meticulously, ensuring that the bid meets the criteria of being an ‘outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture, or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change’. The team believes there is a great deal of evidence to back up this claim, including discoveries in the caves that have cemented the notion that Neanderthals did inhabit the area. The Museum is also working tirelessly to display that they have a thorough management plan of the area in place. Works so far have included the removal and re-addition of netting along the cliffs on the south side of the rock to prevent rock falls. A cliff stabilisation project was undergone and works to renew the steps leading to Vanguard’s and Gorham’s caves are in motion. A mass of metal scrap was cleared from the area of Vanguard’s cave, along with the scaffolding used in the excavation. A protective grating has been placed around the Neanderthal engraving that was discovered last year, to the Museum’s delight. Work at sea level is ongoing, and the plants along Europa Advance Road that were found to be infected by a fungal disease are being cleared and replaced with vegetation native to the area. The final status of the bid should be revealed by Summer 2016, with the decision made by the 21 members of the World Heritage Committee. Individuals interested in getting involved with the bid by volunteering, or finding out more information, can contact the Gibraltar Museum on 200 74289.

Engraving from dossier GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

news

Rock Hotel extensively renovated

riginally built by John Crichton-Stuart, the Marquis of Bute, in 1932, the Rock Hotel’s recognisable façade is almost a Gibraltarian institution. Following a very recent and very extensive refurbishment, guests and members of the general community alike can enjoy the facilities to an extremely high degree. The extensive physical restructure includes a fresh and modern lobby for greeting guests and updated, comfortable bedrooms, designed in true colonial style with the incorporation of entirely modern facilities. Windows in rooms have been replaced with double glazed smart-glass ‘manufactured in keeping with the hotel’s traditional architecture.’

views, caters for corporate, private and social events. Alternatively, functions can also be held poolside at the neighboring Khaima venue, also belonging to the Rock Hotel.

A new restaurant experience offers fine dining, with breakfast now served al fresco on the Wisteria Terrace, offering the ultimate bay views amidst the surrounding flora. The Lounge Bar offers traditional afternoon English and Moroccan tea, an increasingly popular option for visiting cruise ship visitors.

More recently the Rock Hotel was the chosen venue for the filming of BBC’s ‘New Tricks’, with much of the cast also staying at the establishment. All celebrity guests will soon be immortalised at the hotel, with the introduction of its ‘Hall of Fame’ Gallery.

A new conference and banqueting facility with its own private terrace for sunset

The hotel maintains much of its origin and antiquity in the subtle colours and ‘timeless décor, which combines elements of Gibraltar’s colonial heritage with more contemporary touches.’ It has formerly housed a host of famous faces including Sir Winston Churchill, Errol Flynn, Alec Guinness and Sean Connery and John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who exchanged their wedding vows in one of the private room.

James Gaggero, Chairman of the Bland Group, who owns the hotel, commented on the Rock Hotel’s position as ‘Gibraltar’s jewel in the crown.’ He added, ‘I am proud

that my family has been associated with this landmark property since 1959. It has now been restored to its former glory and we are committed to providing the very best hotel experience that Gibraltar has to offer.’

Eclipse brings nightlife back to Casemates

ith the success of their first major music event under their feet, business partners Giovanni Bagu and Tyrone Foley have turned to a similar industry to dip their toes in. Opening a nightclub is no easy feat, and the two have certainly come across hurdles along the way, from construction, to licensing, and even down to what age limit to secure on the door. Their last venture, National Day 2014’s Monkey Rocks Festival, hailed a triumph for Giovanni. It proved most certainly to be the headlining event of the biggest party day of the year with famed local acts and international DJs performing to a crowd, a wash with red and white and sticky spirits. This was the precursor to opening the ‘Eclipse Lounge’ at the former Salsa Fuego premises in the Casemates Square Vaults. With US famed Domino’s Pizza having recently opened behind the club, at the entrance to Landport Tunnel, new life has been brought to an area that had formerly GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

lost its appeal to night revelers, in favour of Ocean Village. Giovanni and Tyrone explained that having spent years travelling and frequenting different clubbing spots around the World, they wanted to bring an entirely new prospect to Gibraltar that was a club first, and a lounge/ bar second. The club bases its theme around Marbella glam, also catering for the ‘after work drinks’ market with an outside lounge area and finger foods available. Construction works were carried out between January and May, with the entire venue having to be stripped back, before new furniture was put in. Following this, a state of the art sound system and LED lighting was installed for a genuine clubbing experience seldom found in Gibraltar.

VIP tables will also be available to club dwellers. Teaming up with the Rock’s finest healthy food option team ‘The Muscle Bakery’, Eclipse will cater towards a healthy and wholesome menu, with different options available to vegans and those intolerant to wheat or gluten. Eclipse Lounge will open it doors this month. Follow their Facebook page at facebook.com/Eclipseloungegib.

Eclipse Lounge runs themed events each Friday and Saturday night, catering to different crowds with different dance music genres. Their intention is to host an international DJ each month, whilst also supporting the local musical talent. 13

news

Retired Regiment CO walks 2152km for charity

arrying out a 2152 kilometer charity walk in aid of the Gibraltar Regiment’s RG Benevolent Fund and GBC Open Day, Lieutenant Colonel (Rtd) Mark Randall is hoping to reach his final destination of Gibraltar by the first week of July. The initial leg of the walk started in Cardiff on 21st April, directly following a 21 Gun Salute that was executed by the Royal Gibraltar Regiment at Cardiff Castle, to mark the Queen’s Birthday. From there he walked 250 kilometers to Plymouth where he embarked on a ferry to Santander in Spain. Mark, a former Commanding Officer of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, has carried out a number of long distance walks across Europe. This is by far his biggest challenge. He is averaging 28 – 30 kilometers a day following a route using national trails, paths and roads.

‘I have been lucky with the weather and there has only been four days of rain. I’ve particularly enjoyed walking across the Cheddar Gorge and Dartmoor and I’m glad I included them in my route,’ Mark commented, ‘My daughter Tammy, some of her friends from University, and the Exeter University Officer Training Corps joined me on the last leg of my journey in the UK and Francis Brancato has just walked 150 km from Santander with me, which was a tremendous support. If anyone else would like to join me, at any stage of the journey, they would be very welcome. I can be contacted via e-mail at bufandboy@gmail. com.’ Sponsors are being collected by the Royal Gibraltar Regiment Adjutant, Captain John Pitto who can be contacted on 200 53213. Donations can also be dropped into the Royal Gibraltar Regiment Association Club in Irish Town.

Sir Adrian is New Friends of Gibraltar Chairman words by Nara Hodge, photos by Mike Brufal

he Friends of Gibraltar is a close-knit, non-political society where members are united by our love for the Rock, a strong interest in its cultural uniqueness and our desire to support the Rock and keep its heritage alive. The group holds a fascinating programme of meetings with VIP speakers with a connection to the Rock and varied social events in London, along with an annual seminar in the UK and visit to Gibraltar. Last month, I attended a ‘Friends’ event with the former Governor of Gibraltar Sir Adrian Johns. It was a perfect opportunity for Sir Adrian to introduce himself as the

Sir Adrian Johns & Gibraltar lobbyist Nara Hodge

new Chairman of the society and give a talk on his time as Governor of Gibraltar. The talk was a fascinating insight into his days on the Rock as Governor. He shared with us lovely memories of his years in Gibraltar and how much he and his wife enjoyed their time on the Rock. The hospitality and warmth of the locals, the respect and good will with which they treated both him and his lady featured heavily in his talk. Sir Adrian felt honoured to serve as the Queen’s representative in Gibraltar and will forever cherish the memories of his time as the Governor. His passion and love for the Rock and high regard for its people were evident

Field Marshal Sir John Chapple - former Governor

in his every word and it was one of the reasons I thoroughly enjoyed making his acquaintance. We had a very interesting chat and exchanged many ideas on how to build on further supporting the Rock. We’ll definitely keep in touch and hopefully work together to help Friends of Gibraltar with the incredible work they do to maintain an interest in and support for the Rock and it’s heritage. After the talk was over the members were able to socialise over drinks and have a more intimate chat with Sir Adrian. Lively discussions about further events and new ideas for raising funds to support the Gibraltar Trust were exchanged.

Lady Chapple, Baroness Hooper, Sir John Chapple, Mrs Chichester, Giles Chichester GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

news

Recruits Charity Pull

n the 6th of June, the Royal Gibraltar Police and Gibraltar Defence Police Recruits will be taking part in a Charity Boat Pull in aid of “Stay Clean”, a charity that aims to create awareness on drug related issues.

being pulled is an RHIB designed for the purpose of combating drug trafficking.

The pull will start at Casemates Square at 10 am and they will be pulling the boat and trailer all the way up Main Street. The vessel

If you want to donate monies beforehand, please contact Sergeant Neil Zammitt at New Mole House on Tel. 20072500.

The Royal Gibraltar Police will be helping them in collecting donations throughout the event.

RGP & Our Community by John Luke Olivera (RGP Trainee 8)

ver the past few months I have been involved in organising an event in conjunction with local charity, Clubhouse Gibraltar, who provide support to individuals with a history of mental illness. The Clubhouse offers assistance with issues surrounding employment, a work-ordered day, a social program, community support, education and a housing program. On Saturday the 9th of May 2015, the Clubhouse hosted their annual “Yellow Walk” which saw participants walk from the Convent to Casemates collecting monies along the way and distributing leaflets and

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

flyers with information on the charity’s projects. The RGP raised funds with a static bike challenge which took place at the Yellow Walk’s finishing line at Casemates. The Youth Service also contributed to the event by running a cake stall and provided music throughout the day. The event commenced at 9 am although we had been there much earlier to set up the two bikes along with a gazebo to provide shelter from the sun which was sure to beat down on us during the day! Both bikes were in constant use by Royal Gibraltar Police Trainees as well as all the recruits

from the current school which includes ten Gibraltar Defence Police recruits whose training is being provided for by the RGP. Apart from the money raised on the day, an additional £10 was kindly donated by each Recruit, Trainee and member of the RGP Training Staff. The RGP are also pleased to confirm that the RGP Charity Committee will be adding to the sum of monies raised. The dedication and hard work of the event organisers namely Emily Adamberry and others at the Clubhouse, myself and my colleagues at the RGP and all the youth workers, especially Lisa Olivera, led to a hugely successful event which raised awareness and funds for this important local mental health charity.

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JUNE 2007

finance | business | property

OPEN FOR BUSINESS Winding down for the summer? Not likely.

ou know how it is on aeroplane flights. Sometimes the person in the next seat just won’t get the point. On a recent trip, I’d tried reading, catching up on a downloaded movie, even a short doze but to no avail. She still wouldn’t leave me alone. “So how come you’ve lived in Gibraltar all these years then?” followed swiftly by “What’s it really like?” (her emphasis). I thought of sending her a link to The Gibraltar Magazine but she didn’t look the type to own a computer. And finally, the question that finished our putative relationship for good: “And you’ll be winding down for the summer soon, then ... ”. I gave up. But the lady in 11D wasn’t untypical in her view. Over the years that I have lived in Gibraltar I have often been asked how closely we follow our Mediterranean neighbours. In many ways it’s true; after GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

all we tend to talk about enjoying a Mediterranean lifestyle and so on, but tempered “with a British feel”. I think this is particularly true when it comes to how we tackle the summer break. The two weeks annual trip to the seaside so beloved by the British in times past has, to a large extent, disappeared. Living as we do by the sea, perhaps we take our ready access to it for granted; certainly we do not need to wait until our allocated holiday time to go paddling. Local Gibraltar businesses, however, generally follow the British model and most firms that I know of remain fully open for business throughout the summer. In fact, it would be unthinkable for them to close, as often happens across the border and in other parts of Europe across multiple business sectors.

Before I get carried away, of course I should at least mention “summer hours” – that long-standing Gibraltar convention that sees government offices close early in the afternoon during the hottest months of the summer. I have written in the past about this – and none too politely – but today’s column focuses on the private sector, where we do not follow this tradition and for a very good reason. Government office staff will attend to our needs when they can and there is little we can do about the summer hours’ regime. In the private sector, however, if we are not there to attend to our clients’ needs, they will go somewhere else. They won’t wait patiently until the morning when we decide we are ready for them. Instead, they’ll go looking for an alternative supplier and that business, whatever it is, will be lost forever. 17

All this is not to say that Gibraltarians won’t be taking a break during the warmer months – most do. Being somewhat contrary, my own “summer holiday” was taken in March when, as anyone who follows me on social media will attest, I annoyed all and sundry with images of spectacular scenery, aircraft and wildlife in Alaska. I tend not to take leave during the summer – and certainly not since I moved to Gibraltar all those years ago. Why? To misquote Macmillan, it’s “events, dear boy”. By this I don’t just mean the jolly parties and events that crop up with some regularity for the local community during the summer months. It seems to me that there is now so much else happening to attract visitors to the Rock that, given the higher number of people who come to enjoy them, it is rather a good idea to be here to welcome them. And yes, we should exploit them for any business opportunities that they might bring to these shores.

There are numerous festivals and special conferences planned for the next few months – indeed too many to mention without the risk of forgetting one or two and upsetting someone. Suffice it to say that I’m often surprised by the high level of public support garnered by international events held on the Rock and I fervently hope that this will continue. Aside from events and happenings, we should also note the investments in infrastructure that continue to take place around us and which continue to attract new tourists and business visitors. Extensive renovations at The Rock Hotel have just been completed and we have seen the “launch” of yet more first-class facilities at the Sunborn floating hotel. Our international airport and associated amenities include excellent facilities at the Wessex Lounge for those using their own business jets. New passenger routes have

recently been launched to Bristol, while the frequency of some of the London flights has also been increased over the summer. We have also seen a welcome return to the Tangier route with its easy onward connection to Casablanca. For business people, this will open up a whole range of exciting destinations across Africa and beyond. And there are more cruise ships coming too. So much for getting more people to Gibraltar. Just as important, if not more so, is that they should enjoy the experience once they are here – be it first-class hotel accommodation, restaurants or other entertainment facilities. My focus is naturally on the business traveller, particularly those visiting us for the first time. And this is why I’m always keen to be here to welcome them and be sure that they find out what’s on offer here. Together we can tell a great story and this bodes well for Gibraltar as an international finance centre in the years ahead. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

business opened its doors for business and I wish them well. Consider too, the fast growing Gibraltar pensions business. Not just QROPS and QNUPS, which I have written about in past issues, but other company and individual schemes that have followed in their wake. The growth in this sector is attracting a great deal of attention and we seem to be welcoming interested practitioners and professionals from near and far every week. So “Mrs Snooty” in seat 11D, yes, I am looking forward to summer, thank you very much. And yes, there will be time for beach BBQs and long summer nights but, at least for me and many other business people here, it is most definitely not a question of winding down. We plan to be busier than

ever. We may live in a Mediterranean culture where it is still acceptable in many countries to desert your post for a whole month in the summer, but we also now live in a global economy. The markets in Asia, Africa and the Americas beat to a different rhythm. And when business comes ‘a calling, it doesn’t want to be told to come back in a month’s time. I say send them to us in Gibraltar. We’ll be open for business.

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

Just consider a couple of examples. Anyone walking along Bayside Road in recent months will have seen the largescale development taking shape that will bring the World Trade Center franchise to the Rock. I make no apologies for the American spelling of “Center” – that is the brand name. If all goes to plan, this exciting development should alleviate the office space problem that can often be a headache for companies aiming to set up or expand on Gibraltar. More generally, on the finance side we are seeing ever more interest in the insurance and funds areas. Corporate and trust work is changing and therefore more challenging but we must all work to sharpen our focus and deliver the services that the international community wants. Hopefully, we are achieving this in the corporate service sector – we certainly seem to be busier than ever and there is increasing demand for more staff. Furthermore, the Gibraltar International Bank has recently GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

photo by Steve Ball 19

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

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

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03/03/15 08.53

business

KPMG eSUMMIT Where is the Gaming Industry Going?

Gaming is ever topical in Gibraltar. Making up almost 25% of the Gross Domestic Product, it’s an industry that continues to grow exponentially worldwide, and Gibraltar has to keep up. The KPMG eSummit this year marked its fifth annual event moving away from being entirely eGaming based and taking on a more general eBusiness related theme. The two-day Summit in late April was well attended and hugely interesting, and not just for those within the industry, but also for a lowly journalist such as myself, who does not profess to have very much knowledge on the matter. The Summit drew in a crowd outside of the local market, with individuals from the telecommunications, IT, marketing, law and banking sectors following the diverse line up of seminars; from reviewing Gibraltar’s gambling regulation to promoting social responsibility in gaming, to exploring the

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

realms of crypto-currency and its relevance to Gibraltar and hearing from Gibraltar’s own gaming operators on the future of the industry. As a swiftly emerging industry in the digital world, crypto related technologies are bringing an entirely new perspective to virtual exchanges. The focus currently seems to be on currency, with the most popular and well regulated being Bitcoin. I also learned about Blockchain 2.0, a development concept that ‘borrows the basis of Bitcoin’s transaction verification model, to record and verify transactions of any kind in a decentralized manner, without the need for miners’. The blockchain database is not without its faults though, being unregulated, uncontrollable and apparently incredibly harsh on mistakes.

Introducing the Seminar, Minister for Financial Services and Gaming, Albert Isola, touched upon the Government’s total commitment to compliance, transparency and freedom of information, with over 130 tax exchange agreements having been signed internationally. It was noted that the gaming community had grown by 50% over five years, with 3000 employees currently working in the sector. On the crypto currency front, the Minister explained that a working group on the matter had provided him with a report that was now being drafted into a cabinet paper to put before his fellow ministers. The first morning of the event moved on to a discussion on the review of Gibraltar’s current gambling legislation, published in 2005 as part of the Gambling Act. A panel comprising lawyer Peter Howitt, industry lawyer and former Chief Minister Peter Caruana, lawyer and former Minister 21

business

Gambling Regulation panel Peter Montegriffo and Steven Caetano, Partner at Isolas discussed how the gaming industry has evolved since a steady drip of operators began to stream in to Gibraltar in the mid 90s. Mr. Caruana explained that when he took office in 1996, one operator was already present in Gibraltar, his Government, along with their regulator initiated a process of ‘selective licensing’, hand picking the highest quality operators wanting to bring their headquarters to Gibraltar. This process allowed for ‘a lighter regulatory touch’, which did involve a balance between protection and sensitivity. Caruana insisted that the Government pledged their commitment to gaming ‘from the very outset’ and since then, consecutive Governments have done the same. It was unanimously agreed by the panel that as the gaming world evolves, so does the need to update the legislation, which Peter Montegriffo said was conceived at a time when the industry was very different and largely based on UK regulation. Since then, he noted, the technology has changed enormously. There is a need for modernizing, revamping and making the structure more relevant. There is also a need for finding a way to regulate the currently unregulated aspects of the industry. Peter Howitt, who acts as the chairman of the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association, representing the Rock’s operators in the face of politicians and other bodies, touched upon the success of Gibraltar’s very human led regulatory process. He suggested shifting the structure of the Gambling Act to develop a more principle based licensing regime. The panel discussed the threat from providers 22

of support services and the potential to establish a separate licence for those that challenge the legislation, but are not direct operators. Peter Howitt insisted that there is no ‘one size fits all’ policy. The group is in no way looking to abandon the central features of the current legislation, just modernize and update it. Responsibility in Gaming With a host of relevant conferences and breakout sessions over the duration of the Summit, one of the two that piqued my interest the most was the GBGA Workshop, covering ‘Responsible Gaming’ with recently launched, independent, selfregulated watchdog ‘The Senet Group,’ who promote ‘responsible gambling standards, ensuring that the marketing of gambling is socially responsible.’ The group this year launched a series of powerful advertising campaigns educating the British public on the risks of gambling, through the slogan ‘When the Fun Stops, Stop’. The body is eager to grow their membership, which now includes big players in the industry; Gala Coral Group, Ladbrokes, William Hill and Paddy Power. Members all agreed to promote the safe gambling adverts, using the slogan in their own ads and limiting TV ads encouraging individuals to sign up for free bonuses, to appear after 9pm.

The Group has been fully endorsed by the UK Government; under the group’s mantra that self-regulation is the most successful kind of regulation. Operators who join the group’s membership must comply with their codes and failure to do so could result in a hefty fine. The Group’s Chair and Independent Standards Commissioner Wanda Goldwag compared the group’s mantra to that of the Gibraltar Government in trying to create a quality mark for operators in Gibraltar, following the most sensible mandate, and not the easiest to follow. Let’s Go, Crypto! My mind is consistently blown by the concept of cryptocurrency technologies. In December 2014 KPMG hosted a daylong seminar detailing the uses and benefits of digital currencies in the eGaming industry, and its relevance to Gibraltar. The Commercial Workshop on Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and FinTech delved so much further into the matter and how Gibraltar would benefit from becoming a hub for the industry. Experts in the field; Siân Jones of COINsult and Preston Byrne of Eris Industries spoke of the rising industry and the relevance of the decentralized currency, whilst panelists James Montado of Isolas and Antony Provasoli of Hassans discussed the Government’s cryptocurrency working group and how the Rock has warmed to the idea of virtual currency. Eris Industries is a blockchain technology start-up in London. The company came about as part of a competition by Bitcoin pioneer Olivier Janssens to replace the Bitcoin Foundation with software applications. Confused? The Eris Industries software platform does not only act as a database development platform, but also GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

business develops fully working and legal smart contracts. The discussion covered measures Gibraltar could take to become a leading hub for decentralised applications and the quickly developing world of crypto, in the same way as the Rock has become the number one jurisdiction for eGaming. Veteran cryptocurrency regulator, Siân Jones insisted that Gibraltar should implement the mechanism for providing regulatory procedures. She further added that the Rock should attract, develop and produce skills relevant to virtual currency central to start-ups. Thirdly, she believes that to become a hub for the industry, Gibraltar must be able to provide banking services for such businesses, dealing with both physical (fiat) money and virtual currencies. Preston Byrne urged Gibraltar to look towards developing an interest in young people, particularly through the University of Gibraltar.

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GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2015

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27/01/2015 13:21

business

KEITH AZOPARDI Revolutionising the Legal Profession

frontline barrister for almost 25 years and a staunchly passionate political enthusiast, Keith Azopardi most recently took on a new position at the head of the Gibraltar Bar Council. With plans to engage further with members of council and push market development within the expansive legal industry on the Rock, Keith discusses his new role and his extensive career in the legal profession. Firstly, what does your position as Chairman of the Gibraltar Bar Council involve? Well, obviously the bar council traditionally represents legal practitioners. The vast majority of legal practitioners are members of the bar council, but I’m always quite keen to explain that the bar council and the membership doesn’t only include GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

practitioners, it includes people who are in the employed bar, in Government legal service perhaps. Also, I think the name ‘bar council’, if you think of what they do in the UK, tends to be slightly inaccurate in Gibraltar, as we are a fused profession of barristers and solicitors. We represent the vast majority of practicing lawyers, and not just barristers. Our role is to represent the interests of members, to discuss with Government changes in certain laws that are relevant to the members. Also, traditionally, we have lobbied for certain legal changes, which are of wider interest to the community, and that will continue. In terms of my own specific role as Chairman I, together with the council, get to set the strategy in terms of how we take things forward and how we discuss matters with members and Government. We meet on a monthly basis. The

appointment of a chairman is for a year, although by convention the practice has emerged that if you are elected at an AGM, a chairman can serve up to three years, as has happened systematically over the last few years. What are some of the issues you’re looking to promote and tackle during the tenure as Chairman? One of the things I said before being elected is that I had ideas of my own, but I was quite keen that we should have a wider consultation with members including their ideas, their interests and their concerns over the first few weeks and months so that it would help the council shape a strategy that we would hope to announce, at least in part, at the opening of the legal year in October. I’ve already written to members and now 25

business

intend to approach specific law firms and chambers and generally speak to as many people that want to speak to me. I do want to have a wide consultation. There are obvious things that will require attention, in my view, including the issue of regulation in relation to the legal services in Gibraltar. We need to do more about education and professional development. We need to think quite carefully about what membership of the bar council means and what benefits our members get. We need to influence market development – what I mean by that is the wider agenda of improving the products that are available to the legal and financial services community generally, and we need to have a better interface with the Courts so that support services and access to resources is improved. Looking back on your career within the legal profession, give us a brief insight into your history as a lawyer. I was called to the bar twenty-five years ago, although I’ve not spent all that time as a legal practitioner because I served in Government for eight years. Whilst I have been in practice, I’ve spent my time exclusively doing litigation so I have been an advocate barrister in the purest sense. Conversely, the other candidate in the campaign for chairman, Andrew Haynes, actually comes from quite a different background, in the sense that he’s done quite a lot of commercial and trust and property work which is quite useful actually, because it does mean that 26

we have quite different people around the table at the bar council. In essence, I’ve been a litigator and I don’t intend to change my practice. I have certain experience that is quite useful to me in discharging these functions. I am not a commercial lawyer but I do have some experience of financial services and the commercial world because I did have that ministerial portfolio when I was in Government. What about the Queens Council? I took silk in 2012. The whole process of appointing a Queen’s Council in Gibraltar was blocked between 2002 and 2012 because the criteria was under review, so nobody was appointed between those years. When the system was replaced by new criteria and applications were open again in 2012, I was one of the people that were appointed in the first round. I was quite happy about that.

we’ve gone forward on that basis. On this occasion a number of people were being talked to. Andrew and myself were approached; we both decided to throw our names in the ring… I actually filed my nomination papers first and then Andrew called me, to tell me as a matter of courtesy that he was going to do the same and that led to a process that was very friendly. The bar council invited us both to circulate our own ‘manifestos’ to the members and we did that. That was good in itself because for the first time there was some real engagement with members on the electoral process itself and I think we had quite a well attended AGM as a result of the fact that there was going to be a contested election. I got the support of members and was elected and I was delighted to have been entrusted by members to fill this role. Andrew and I will work very closely however, in matters going forward. Specifically, he is very interested in the market development agenda and I’ve asked him to take that on as his own personal role within the council. And lastly, more out of my own interest, do you have any plans to return to local politics? There will be no return to politics while I am in this role; that is quite clear in my mind. I am a political animal, having been involved in politics ever since I came back from university and I feel the pull of politics, but I am conscious that it would be inappropriate for me to be involved in politics. After this role is over… well then we’ll see where we are.

With regards to the chairman election, this was potentially the first time the post was contested by two members. Tell us a little bit about the process… I think it was the first time, certainly in living memory. It wasn’t because of anything other than more than one person threw their hat in the ring; there was no greater mystery behind that. Previously one person had been approached and by acclamation almost the bar has tended to support that one candidate and GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

business words | Hannah Robinson

TRUST CRUSADERS Preserving family wealth

rusts are nothing new. To the contrary, the law of trusts was first developed under the jurisdiction of the King of England in the 12th Century at the time of the Crusades. When a landowner left his home in England to battle in the Crusades, he would convey the ownership of his land to a trusted acquaintance (“the Trustee”). The Trustee would manage the estate and pay and receive feudal dues, on the understanding that the ownership would be conveyed back to the Crusader on this return. Unfortunately however, Crusaders often encountered refusal from the Trustee to hand over the property and, regrettably for the Crusader, English common law did not recognize their claim; as far as the King’s courts were concerned, the land belonged to the Trustee who was under no

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

obligation to return it. The Crusader had no legal claim. The disgruntled Crusader would petition the King, who would refer the matter to his Lord Chancellor and he would decide the result of the case according to his conscience. The Lord Chancellor considered it unacceptable that the legal owner (the “Trustee”) could go back on his word and deny the claims of the Crusader (the “true” owner). He would therefore find in favour of the returning Crusader. At this time the principle of equity was born. By the end of the 13th Century, England had developed a fairly rudimental set of laws which became known as the common law. The common law rules provided a satisfactory and a fair solution to most issues, controversies and disputes. Initially,

these rules were applied in an inconsistent manner, and in order to create a more consistent approach and in the interest of justice, the English courts would strictly follow the decisions and principles laid down in previous cases. This became known as ‘stare decisis’ or the doctrine of precedent. In common law legal systems, a Trust is a relationship whereby property is held by one party for the benefit of another. There is a separation of the legal and equitable ownership of the property, the legal ownership being with the Trustee, and equitable title with the Beneficiary. To this day, a Trust remains an extremely versatile vehicle that can be used to aide succession planning, assist in the preservation of family wealth, and to facilitate the protection of assets in 27

business unstable environments, to name a few. We often find that the prospective client appreciates the benefits of a Trust, however, they find it difficult to accept the concept of handing over the legal ownership of their empire to a Trustee. We find that explaining the concept of how trusts originated can help to relieve their initial concerns. We can generally define a Trust as an equitable obligation, binding a person (“Trustee”) to deal with property (“trust property”) owned by him as a separate fund, distinct from his own private property, for the benefit of persons (“beneficiaries”) of whom he may be one, and any one of whom may enforce the obligation. Whilst trusts have evolved over the years, the principle behind them remains very much the same, centuries later we still use them just as the Crusaders did, in the preservation of family wealth.

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08/04/2015 12:23:10

business

BENEFITS OF MENTORING What is the process?

have recently been promoted to a new role with responsibility for managing staff and reporting to the board. My CEO has suggested I have a mentor and, although I have heard of mentoring I am not really sure of the benefits or process? Mentoring is a process where one person offers help, guidance, advice and support to facilitate the learning and development of another. As a relationship, mentoring succeeds because there are no power games, the emphasis is on co-operation and not competition and the relationship exists primarily for the benefit of the mentee. Mentoring differs from coaching and training in that coaching tends to have a specific and tightly focused goal (e.g.

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helping someone prepare for an interview, or make a presentation to a client), whereas training tends to be wholly workrelated and concentrates exclusively on someone’s professional skills/concerns. A mentor can take the role of advisor, supporter, tutor, sponsor or role model in order to meet the needs of their mentee. To be fully effective, the relationship would explore the personal feelings and aspirations of the mentee and therefore it is often best that the mentor is not in the same department as the mentee. If your company is fairly small, you may even have a mentor that is external to your company. The nature of the mentoring relationship will change over time, as the mentees’

needs change. An effective mentor therefore will be aware of these changes and the degree and type of attention, support, advice, information and encouragement that they provide will vary accordingly. The benefits of mentoring for the mentee are: •

Gain a different perspective

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Acquire knowledge

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Understand appropriate behaviour

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Overcome obstacles

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Possibly open up opportunities

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A sounding board

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Empowerment

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Have someone to aspire to

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Identify strengths and areas of development

business The benefits to the mentor are: •

Acquire knowledge

•

Develop their mentoring skills

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Rewarding on a personal level

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Improve problem-solving skills.

Key elements to consider when starting a mentoring relationship are, to identify what your expectations are so that you can choose the right mentor. Know what you want out of the mentoring. Choose the right mentor by establishing their background and their desirability. Once you have done this you will be ready to initiate the relationship. It is necessary for both parties to agree ground rules and be clear about levels of honesty and integrity so the parties can comfortably say when something is not working. You will need to consider whether anyone outside of the relationship will require feedback, for example your CEO. It is important to establish timeframes and schedules as well as how success will be measured. The first meeting should be about building rapport, but prior to your first meeting ensure that you have an agenda and this will include getting to know each other, your backgrounds, expectations, parameters, objectives, goals and aspirations. At this first meeting, agree the frequency, location, timing and duration of future meetings. A mentoring contract is often used to capture this information as well as establishing confidentiality, note taking, dealing with difficulties and ending the relationship. One way of creating such a contract is for both parties to agree and write down: •

Things I will do

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Things I will not do

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Things I can do

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Things I cannot do

When choosing a mentor, picking someone from a similar discipline to yourself who has similar experiences, and knowledge may mean a high rapport but possibly little learning potential as you are very similar. Alternatively, if you are matched with someone from a different background who has had different experiences, and has a different personality and attributes you may not have the same level of rapport with them but the learning potential could be much higher. It is for you to identify what you want to gain from the relationship. A key quality you should be prepared for is that the mentor will challenge and stretch you. They will take you outside your comfort zone and require you to take ownership and complete tasks. An awareness of self will go a long way to helping the mentoring relationship, especially in the early stages. So try making a list of the key areas, skills and qualities you require to progress your career. Try asking yourself:

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What would I like to get better at?

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What would make me succeed?

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What prevents me from succeeding?

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What causes me to fail?

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What areas do I lack confidence in?

Lastly here are some tips for making your relationship successful: •

Accept challenges willingly

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Have faith and trust in your mentor

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Maintain a positive view of yourself

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Share with your mentor how you feel about the relationship and the way it is working

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Be willing to discuss issues openly

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Be pro-active in managing your own development and career

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Don’t expect too much of your mentor

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Consider ways to develop yourself outside of the mentoring relationship

The HR Dept. offers mentoring services to those who are looking to develop their career and new managers.

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

business

JASON SMART CEO for the Elite Group of Companies

his month, I am focussing on one of the key business sectors in Gibraltar – Insurance. I recently met up with Jason Smart, Chief Executive Officer for the Elite Group of Companies, including Elite Insurance based at Queensway Quay, to gain an insight into his personal career to date. What is your business background? I qualified as a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives in 1998 and was a college lecturer in law. I have twenty years experience as a litigation lawyer with a number of prominent law firms and established Perfect Consulting Ltd in 1998 and Legal Reports & Services Ltd in 2000. In 1999, I established Company & Commercial Services Limited, which provided risk assessment services to

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

insurers specialising in ATE legal expenses insurance. I am also the former secretary of the Association of Medical Reporting Organisations, the leading medico-legal reporting trade body and a former member of the Law Society’s Personal Injury Panel. I’m currently in the final stages of completing an MBA and sit on the council for RIAD as Council Member for Gibraltar. What was your very first job? My very first job was as a server in McDonalds. This was an invaluable experience in customer services and the art of dealing with difficult people. If you hadn’t chosen your current career, is there another career path you would have liked to pursue? I was a child actor and quite fancy the idea

of treading the boards on the West End. What is the best thing about your job? I love having the ability to take what begins as a simple idea and make it into a live and profitable project. How do you link in with the local community and what role do you play in it? I currently sit on the council for RIAD as the council member for Gibraltar. RIAD is a worldwide Legal Expenses Insurance association. What is the single most important reason for your success? Sheer determination and the drive to succeed, backed by the love and dedication of a strong woman, my wife Sue. 31

business

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement? My 4 fantastic kids! 3 boys and then the youngest, a little girl. What is your least favourite part of doing what you do? Paperwork! How did you get involved with Gibraltar? Elite Insurance was up for sale. I had insight into the strong professional infrastructure, excellent, insurance friendly

regulatory environment and strong insurance skills base here in Gibraltar and we therefore decided to acquire it and did so in 2005.

Best advice anyone has given to you?

What book do you think that every business person and of course, business student should read?

Gary Glitter – “Do you wanna be in my gang”. It still brings the memories of my youth.

‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen Covey. It highlights the importance of having a goal with a strategic plan to achieve it, and of getting the best out of the people you need to assist you in achieving it.

What movie (no matter how many times you’ve seen it) do you have to watch, when it comes on?

When did you make a wrong decision?

My dad: Never trust anyone. What was the first record you ever brought?

Midnight Express. Stephen Ball is writing in his own capacity and none of the above is intended to express the views or opinions of Barclays Bank PLC.

In March 1999, I went out for a ride on my push bike and was hit by a car. It took months to get back on my feet. Any ambitions not yet fulfilled? I would like to gain a helicopter pilot’s license as I’ve been fascinated by air travel since a little boy. It’s an achievable goal despite the demands of my career. Mountain hideaway or beach house? Beach House.

Stephen Ball is Relationship Manager for Barlclays in Gibraltar. Tel: +350 200 15103 Email: stephen.j.ball@ barclays.com

5* YACHT HOTEL waterfront bars restaurants & cafes superyacht marina casino admiral beauty salons shops & pharmacy clothes boutique dolphin tours health club & gym sailing schools dive trips ocean village is only a 10 minute walk or 3 minute car journey from the spanish border. open 7 days a week

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015 ANUNCIO CORPORATIVO-190 X 132-trazado.indd 1

20/5/15 12:11

property

OCEAN VILLAGE Why would you live there?

t’s the glitzy lifestyle centre of Gibraltar. Bars, restaurants, pools, sunbeds, casino, Sunborn Hotel, events, marina, and a few shops attract Gibraltarians and ex-pat newcomers to this area. The concept was borne just after the turn of the century, to create a lifestyle centric residential village. The idea was to attract the best of retail, the best in dining and a home for hundreds of residents seeking amenities on their doorstep. Chesterton, Petit Café, O’Reilly’s, Café Laziz and Pizza Express are now all in their seventh year, with some exciting new additions since. For residential owners, virtually everyone has made money given the growth in property prices in Gibraltar since phase one went on sale in 2003. Even those who bought in phase two in 2006, just prior to the European economy moving into reverse, are sitting on a capital gain. The GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

residents of Ocean Village, whether owner occupiers or tenants, have enjoyed the 35,000 square feet of pools and gardens year on year. Happily, the facilities remain in great condition, with the planted areas showing a depth of maturity. This amenity is quite unique in Gibraltar and explains why landlords at Ocean Village enjoy minimal void periods. Plus, there’s always something new to look forward to. In May, the Sunborn opened its own casino whilst in June, La Sala - the lifestyle restaurant already open in Puerto Banus, Marbella and Chigwell (Essex) opens on the third floor of the Sunborn. The existing Admiral (ex-Gala) casino is extending its own offering having recently acquired the area formerly occupied by what used to be called Savannah, next to O’Reilly’s. Searching through recent

minutes of the DPC (town planning), there’s also been a change to allow the three units operating on the boardwalk in front of Watergardens to become offices - in line with increasing demand from businesses seeking to base themselves from the marina. It is always explained to clients that you would not live in Ocean Village for a quiet life. The hustle and bustle by day and party atmosphere on Friday and Saturday nights makes for a lively ambience. The summer months in particular also attract live music, often outside the bars until 11pm, after which the fun usually goes back indoors. In addition to the urban vibrancy the resort offers, it is also within easy walking distance to Main Street, the border, the airport, the stadium with all of its sporting and social facilities, a multitude of some of Gibraltar’s best restaurants on your 33

doorstep, secured, covered and guaranteed parking (for residents), and the ability to jump in the deep end of the many pools on a hot sunny day ensure Ocean Village will remain a residential favourite for a long time to come. Parking The one downside, however, is parking facilities in and around Ocean Village, Glacis Estate, the schools and the stadium. With the area´s increasing popularity, parking is becoming a real problem. Although there is a large car park in Ocean Village, limited spaces are available for public use whilst the rest are reserved for residents. In the facility on the corner of Glacis Road and Bayside Road there

are a further 60 spaces, but this does not alleviate the considerable problems experienced by residents of Glacis Estate, many of whom are on the growing waiting list at Devil’s Tower Road. Now that the Sunborn’s new casino is open and their flagship restaurant (La Sala) also launches this month, there will be even more pressure on existing facilities.

Meanwhile, construction will soon get underway for Imperial Ocean Plaza, the latest release from the developers of Ocean Village, which sold out all 116 apartments in only 5 days – clearly demonstrating the ever increasing popularity of this oasis in Gibraltar.

The Draft Sustainable Traffic, Transport and Parking Plan (STTPP) issued earlier this year by Government as a discussion document addressed many related issues, however, it didn’t really deal with the lack of parking capacity in this area. Its not all bad news though, as there are murmurs of a possible solution in the pipeline.

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

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GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

20 Ocean Vi

life photos | Juan Carlos Teuma

PRINCE OF THE PAPARAZZI Juan Carlos Teuma

idden in a side alley off the historic Horse Barrack Lane, is the small office of one Gibraltarian man with an extraordinarily colourful background in photography. Once dubbed the ‘Prince of the paparazzi’, Juan Carlos Teuma’s inventory of photographs is in the millions. His career kick started where many well known local figures found their feet, at GBC… An assistant photographer under George Valarino, who went on to become the CEO of the local Broadcaster, JC spent the later half of the 60s covering some of the biggest news items on the Rock, from the Referendum, to the closing of the frontier, to the workers’ riots and John Lennon’s wedding to Yoko Ono. ‘Unfortunately, I didn’t know the value of that then, and the photos were not my property, they were GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

GBCs, but I regret that GBC didn’t make any capital out of it because those images are really worth a fortune.’ The majority of Teuma’s photographic career has been spent wandering the sun-drenched avenues of a high society Marbella, which really reached its prime in the 80s and 90s. ‘I love Marbella; nowadays it’s not what it used to be at all. When I got there and through the 80s and early 90s it was marvelous, really cool, lots of celebrities… it’s not as classy as it used to be. I saw the beginnings of Puerto Banus when it first opened and that was really classy.’ After accidentally falling into the paparazzi profession he showed a real flair for catching celebrities off guard and snapping them unawares whilst holidaying at their favourite Costa del Sol spots. His extensive portfolio comes with the most

compelling tales, from threats of legal action for photographing Elizabeth Taylor and her boyfriend of the time sunbathing on the terrace of their exclusive Marbella Club villa, to catching Lady Diana topless in the Garden of a hotel in Mijas. JC’s drive towards photography in his early years took him from GBC on to a Greek cruise ship where, for a short period of time, he took holiday shots for snap happy tourists. He then moved on to another cruise ship based in Gibraltar that travelled around West Africa and eventually carried out Mediterranean cruises. During these few years JC admits he learnt a lot about photography. He left when his superior retired, and returned to Gibraltar briefly, sitting on the notion of continuing his work in tourism photography further up the Costa del Sol. ‘My initial idea was to do any sort of commercial photography. 35

life I met a guy who had a Hacienda in Marbella where he carried out loads of excursions, especially for Americans. There, I pioneered in fast photography because I was taking the pictures and selling them before they left after their dinner or lunch.’ Breaking into the Paparazzi Trade Through a rise in interest in press photography, JC, now a local to Marbella, got to know many photographers from the surrounding Spanish publications as well as Brits who would spend their summers on the Costa del Sol snapping photos for publications back home. Through his contacts, Juan Carlos was approached by an Italian photographer - the paparazzi par excellence – to photograph former Queen of Iran and prominent actress, Princess Soraya, eating dinner in a nearby Chinese restaurant. The Italian photographer was unable to capture the Princess due a pact he’d made to leave her alone, in exchange for an exclusive shoot. ‘That was my first real big story; I waited outside for her to come out of the restaurant. I was a natural. You have to be a bit cheeky to be a paparazzi, or just turn deaf. I did that story and we developed the pictures inside a cupboard in my house, an improvised dark room. He took the pictures. He was very happy but he never paid me,’ JC chuckles. ‘That was two lessons, one was how to work, the other was how to make sure you get paid.’

Being Gibraltarian, JC’s English was of an incredibly high standard affording him the ability to work with a spectrum of British agencies and publications. ‘I had a friend for a long time who was my agent in England, and we did a lot of things for the English press. I was quite popular with the agencies, they all wanted me to do work for them because there weren’t that many people established in Marbella at the time.’ He speaks highly of most celebrities he photographed and rubbed shoulders with at many of the high profile clubs and parties he attended. ‘Celebrities were really quite friendly, well except Sean Connery, a very bad humored guy who didn’t like his photograph taken. I even got friendly with some celebrities who favoured me when they wanted a story published.’ Still fresh on the scene, JC was approached once more to take photos of Spain’s infamous 18th Duchess of Alba; ‘I remember another time just when bikinis had been allowed by Franco… I knew where the Duquesa lived and what beach she went to but I wasn’t very well equipped, I didn’t have any long lenses. I wasn’t very adept at it yet.’ The young Juan Carlos and his two Italian counterparts found the Duchess’ spot, hid behind a nearby fishing boat and snapped away. ‘I was learning then. One of the photographers put his lens under his

armpit. Good technique.’ JC tried his hand from the same distance but his camera’s capabilities were limited. In a bold move he crept closer to the Duchess, only to be called over and told that if he wanted photographs, she would willingly give him an exclusive at her home that made it into the pages of the Spanish publication ‘Hola’. ‘Unfortunately, the other photos of her in her bikini found their way to publication as well because they were more valuable than the others.’

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Catching Lady Di Topless Other notable celebrity run ins included; getting physically attacked by Sean Connery for photographing him leaving Gibraltar, being invited to snap Ringo Star on Holiday at the Marbella Club, and perhaps most interestingly, catching Lady Diana lounging topless at the pool of an elite Mijas based hotel. The photos were sold for over £30,000. ‘In this profession it’s about knowing people and having the right contacts. Mine used to be concierges, waiters, car park attendants. I used to have a hell of a list of cars and number plates of the rich and famous; so what we did first when looking for someone was tour the car parks. Anybody can be a contact. I made a lot of contacts in England too. I once visited Fleet Street with my agent, and many of the papers were quite eager to meet me. I was quite well know in those circles.’ One of his most peculiar run-ins with a famous face was when prominent Spanish surrealist, Salvador Dali stopped in the outskirts of Marbella, at a luxury medical clinic. As a mass of paparazzi congregated outside, Dali called an impromptu press conference. JC recalls him being rather bizarre. Despite so many years spent as a paparazzi man Juan Carlos’ lifetime in photography

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

far exceeds risqué celebrity snaps. Most recently he works closely with the Gibraltar Government Press Office covering press conferences and events for them locally and abroad in London, New York and Brussels. He has also dabbled in crime photography, capturing famed ‘Costa del Crime’ criminals attending court. He claims that this is risky business, having once been threatened by a notorious mobster who caught JC snapping his photo. Following the IRA shootings in Gibraltar, he took a chance on a young boy who’d photographed the scene. Unaware of whether the photos would be good enough to sell off to the British media, JC and the young photographer travelled to London where they scored a front page deal with the Mail on Sunday, who paid

them £100,000 for the images. Juan Carlos’ photographic inventory encompasses prints, slides, film and thousands of images that have been digitalized; a process which he insists is a mammoth task and most likely for his children to complete one day. In the world of celebrity photography, a personal life is unfeasible. JC speaks of his career quickly becoming a way of life for him, with a great deal of travel involved. He recalls his ex-wife being within the same industry and therefore understanding of his work ethic. ‘Holidays were impossible’ with Summer time being the peak season for celebrity visits to the balmy beaches of the Costa del Sol.

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International cuisine, live music, great atmosphere.

Come join the Latin Jazz Trio every Wednesday night from 7pm - 10.30pm. Relax mid-week style with one of our amazing cocktails or tantalise your taste buds with one of our tasty dishes.

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

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

life

GAVIN SACARELLO How did you first get into flying?

y first memory of planes was of course the Yogi Bair. As kids we used to drag our parents to the airport barrier to watch the evening arrival of the Viscount. I have since learned that this was a ploy to get us to leave the beach early in Summer, so I’m not sure who was dragging who! My aunt was also guilty of driving me to Heathrow to see Concorde land on numerous occasions, which was enough to spark the interest, and from there it grew. I followed in my brother’s footsteps by becoming a member of the local Air Training Corps (ATC). Over a few years, I attended many summer camps in the UK and gained experience flying in Chipmunks amongst other adventure-orientated exercises. The ATC do some great work locally, providing discipline and fun at

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

the same time. They offered excellent opportunities if you were willing to push yourself to secure them. I was thrilled to be awarded a Gliding Scholarship at the age of sixteen. Flying solo before I could drive a car was slightly surreal, but reassuring that someone believed in my ability to fly (would it be an oxymoron to say this experience was quite grounding?). Following the selection process at RAF Cranwell, I was granted an RAF Flying Scholarship at 18 and obtained my Private Pilot’s License on the Cessna thereafter. I then attended the University of Bath for four years, reading Aeronautical Engineering. Whilst there, I was able to continue flying with Bristol University Air Squadron on the Bulldog, learning about life in the Forces. After graduating, I worked at Airbus in Bristol for six years, in the Low Speed Aerodynamics wing design team. In particular, wind tunnel testing working mainly on the A380 and A400M,

and also working on the aerodynamics side of the A340-600 flight test program. This gave me a good technical insight into the design of the Airbus aircraft I now fly. I decided to carry out my Commercial Pilot training in Flight Training Europe (Jerez). Whilst I may have started my Commercial Pilot training relatively late at the age of 26, perhaps it has given me other experiences that give me a more rounded appreciation of what I now do. The flight training lasts the best part of 18 months, beginning with a lot of ground-based study, followed by single engine aircraft flying using basic navigation techniques. After a series of tests, you move onto a twin-engined aircraft and are taught how to navigate using instruments only. During training, the flight deck windows are artificially obscured just after take-off to ensure you navigate to your destination using the instruments only. It is ironic that 39

life most of my training in the twin-engined aircraft was carried out in the sunniest climate, with the view obscured and with one engine simulated as failed! This is so the pilot can demonstrate competency in this event. After graduating from flight school, a further course was required, providing training specific to the aircraft you will operate. A ‘type rating’, as it’s known, lasts approximately 5 weeks, with plenty of testing in the simulator, followed by further training ‘on the line’ (monitored by experienced Training Captains). When I started flying the Airbus commercially, it was with GB Airways and more recently for easyJet since the takeover. I now have about eleven years on the Airbus in total. What are your nicest flying memories? There are certain milestones in every pilot’s career that stick in the mind. Most involve some sort of ‘first’. First solos are one of them. We can all remember the day, getting airborne then glancing over to the still warm empty seat beside you where the instructor sat only a few moments ago, thinking: ‘oh my God this is for real.’ But with good training and a little intuition it is over within a few very long minutes! Since then, my first flight in a jet aircraft was a key moment. When you look out of the window and see an aircraft shadow, jet-shaped, getting smaller and then realise it’s your own shadow, that’s a great feeling. Also, many years later passing the Command Course was the one experience which was perhaps the most humbling. What aspects of your job do you enjoy most? I Iparticularly particularlyenjoy enjoythe the varietyitit brings. brings. Whilst Whilst at at variety first glance to an outsider

The legend claims that whilst parked on the Gibraltar Airport ramp overnight, someone painted two letters on the nose of the GIBAIR DC3 aircraft. They painted YO in front of GIBAIR, probably to match the cartoon character.

it may seem repetitive and confined, in practice no two days are the same. Weather conditions can vary wildly, for example. One day we may fly past the glaciers and volcanos of Iceland landing into Keflavik in gusty snowy conditions at minus nine, whilst the next we could be on our way to Sharm-el-Sheik cruising past the pyramids at Giza, descending over Mount Sinai to a hot dusty climate. Equally, foggy, calm conditions can force operators to carry out ‘Low Visibility Procedures’. In essence, the aircraft carries out an automatic landing with the pilots monitoring only. Whilst this may seem easy, in my opinion it requires more planning and concentration as we need to react quickly should any system not operate correctly. The variety of these challenges is something I enjoy. How does operating to Gibraltar differ from other approaches? The runway in Gibraltar has its challenges which are well-documented: a short runway coupled with interesting wind patterns. Even on a day when the weather seems benign, it is wise not to let your guard down. There are no approach aids in Gibraltar, partly to do with local geography.

the low cloud base, or perhaps the visibility, can be restrictive, as us locals know all too well. I am privileged to have operated to Gibraltar both with GB Airways and more recently with easyJet. I was delighted to hear of about the new Gibraltar - Bristol route which started this April, as I had only recently relocated to our base there. It is my first summer in Bristol and I am looking forward to exploring the South West a little more in my free time. Some of my colleagues are keen surfers so I suspect I will join them at some point, although I must acquire a thick wet suit! I hope to be a regular on the Gibraltar Air Traffic Control airwaves. Every visit to the Rock is good even if only for half an hour; it’s nice to reconnect to my hometown. I am still amazed at how many locals pass messages to us in the front to say hello or even linger behind. The warmth of the Gibraltarians goes a long way! So, should you hear a welcome from Captain Sacarello on your next easyJet flight, please do pay a visit to the Flight Deck and keep the tradition alive.

So, whilst our aircrafts are capable of landing themselves using certain navigation aids, the approach in Gibraltar is under radar control (a Surveillance Radar Approach) leading to a manual landing. The radar controllers provide us with headings to guide us towards the runway; something they do really well relative to other airports. These types of approaches are a little more restrictive in that if we must discontinue the approach (if we are not visual with the runway), from a higher altitude than say an ILS approach (Instrument Landing System). In addition to the wind, during the winter months, GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

life words & photos | Stephanie Ball, MeteoGib

OUR MICROCLIMATE Gibraltar in all weathers

remember arriving in Gibraltar in early 2009 to take up a position as the new senior forecaster at Met Office, Gibraltar. I set out with many ill-conceived ideas having been ribbed by my colleagues and friends about how easy the forecasting would be and how I would be spending many a long day over the next three years, sunbathing in the Mediterranean sunshine. However, it didn’t take long to dispel that myth – oh yes there was sunshine – but that first winter season I spent here, turned out to be Gibraltar’s wettest winter for almost two centuries. It was such a significant meteorological and historical event not only for Gibraltar but also on a European scale; that it was here that my love affair with Gibraltar’s weather began, as I started to research and document the event in my free time.

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However, seven years on and now running my own business, for those that know me they are well aware that my real passion lies in Gibraltar’s Levanter. I still remember my first time driving down from Malaga in the summer sunshine and being taken aback as Gibraltar came into view. There stood the “Rock” solitary against the azure blue Mediterranean skies with its white cap cloud - and it is this levanter cloud that might be said to mark one of the main features of Gibraltar’s microclimate. So what is a microclimate? A microclimate is defined as the climate of a small area, whether covering several metres or a few kilometres, which differs from its surrounding area. This difference in climate could be due to any number of factors, for instance a difference in temperature as in a “frost hollow” or rainfall, as in lying in

what we call a “rain shadow” to the lee of a mountain range. When first thoughts go to Gibraltar’s microclimate, it may be of how its weather generally differs from its Spanish and Moroccan neighbours. As a country, Gibraltar’s climate is very typical of the Mediterranean, but there are differences driven by its unique position in the Strait with high mountain barriers flanking it to the north and south. To the north, the Sierra Nevada and other smaller mountain chains of Andalucía, while to the south, the Rif and Atlas mountains of Morocco, which channel and funnel the wind flow through the Strait of Gibraltar. Of course, Gibraltar is also surrounded by water on all but its northern boundary, and so this too comes into play.

life What is a typical Mediterranean climate? Text books would tell us that it consists of warm, wet winters and hot, dry summers, and yet for those of us who live in Gibraltar or have experienced a summer here, we are well aware that Gibraltar is rarely as hot as its neighbours. If you are like me, you may also have spent many a sleepless night cursing the humid and uncomforting nights that a spell of endless easterly winds can bring. Of course, when winter comes, it is the opposite and we welcome the frost free nights; frost, which as far as Gibraltar records show has only been officially registered once at low level and for this you have to wade back in the records to 1870. We are lucky in Gibraltar to have such a long running record of weather observations, with its rainfall data deemed one of the oldest in the world dating back to 1790, and for that we have the Royal Engineers to thank for first establishing these. However, it is interesting to note that even long before this there was already an awareness that Gibraltar’s climate differed to its neighbours. In Colonel John Drinkwater’s account of the Great Siege of 1779 to 1783 (Drinkwater, 1905) he notes “The cold in winter is not so excessive as in the neighbouring parts of the country. Snow falls but seldom and ice is a rarity; yet the Granadian mountains

of Spain, and the lofty mountains in Africa, have a snow lying on them for several months.”

effects which on a bad day can see you making an unexpected call at Malaga Airport.

It is clear that Gibraltar’s climate differs from its neighbours, but one could also say that it possesses a microclimate within a microclimate as not only can it differ in general from its Spanish and Moroccan neighbours but it can also differ vastly within the few kilometres that span the length and breadth of it. As I mentioned previously, the levanter also becomes one of the main drivers. Have you ever battled against a strong levanter blowing down Devils Tower Road, only to turn the corner and find the wind mysteriously fall calm at Catalan Bay? Have you ever left work in town under a black and drizzling levanter to find the sun shining at home in the South District? Have you ever been stuck working in town in the summer desperate to join the bathers at Eastern Beach, only to hear your family have packed up and gone home after being fogged out? There are so many differences which span our beautiful Rock which go to make up this microclimate, the levanter bringing marked variations in temperature, humidity and sunshine. We also have the Rock itself, standing proud in its surroundings and deflecting the wind flow around it – as previously mentioned with the winds on the East side, but also with the rotor

Of course, my passion is in the levanter and so I can’t help but focus on this and share some of my photographs. Whether you love or hate the levanter, and I have come to believe most Gibraltarians loathe it; it is here to stay and I must admire its ever-changing form as many visitors to the Rock will no doubt have shared with me. So how does it form? The Levanter is an easterly wind, its name coming from the Spanish word “levantar” to rise, as in the sun rising in the east. It can be a dry wind if it originates from the southeast, but more often than not, it is a wind from the east or northeast which, when the air is warm, picks up moisture as it runs over the cooler waters of the Alboran Sea. When winds are light this can give rise to the summer fogs that sometimes plague us, but as winds strengthen, this will be lifted and appear as low cloud. The appearance of the levanter cloud and how extensive it is depends very much on changes in wind, humidity, how stable the air is and how deep the layer of moisture is. It can appear as a layer of low cloud,

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life

or there are the days when it appears as a solitary cap cloud, forming as the wind hits the Rock and is forced upwards allowing the air to cool and then condense to form cloud. This cap cloud can be sculpted by the Rock itself and with its height constrained by what in meteorology is called ‘an inversion’. Under normal atmospheric conditions, temperatures cool with increasing altitude, however, there are times when this changes, for example; as warm air moves over colder air overlying the sea’s surface – this rise in temperature with altitude then acts as a lid on the flow of air/ the depth of the cloud. The night-time picture of the levanter shows this well, on this occasion, the inversion was just above the top of the Rock, such that most of the wind was forced to flow around its sides, enveloping it in cloud. Meanwhile, the photograph of the more prominent white cap cloud can be seen rising well above the top of the Rock where it is then smoothed off into a lenticular form by a higher level inversion. This type of cloud has often been mistaken

for UFOs at night and one can easily see why. The deflection of wind by the Rock itself also produces the effect I drew on earlier when strong winds are seen to fall mysteriously calm at Catalan Bay. If you remember as a child dropping a stone into a fast flowing stream, the water speeds up around the stone and from the flow and ripples of water it is obvious to see that there is an area ahead and in front of the stone where the flow falls light or calm. This is one significant microclimatic effect which is probably the main downside of the levanter, especially for those Gibraltarians living in parts of the upper town. Here, under some levanter conditions, the wind flow can fall calm for days in summer with high humidity, heat and the air stagnating, such that in the 1800’s it was first blamed for the outbreaks of Yellow Fever which blighted the Rock – as written by Jason Musteen in his book, Nelson’s Refuge: Gibraltar in

the Age of Napoleon. That was until the discovery was made that it was a mosquito that was the main perpetrator. It was eventually realised that the levanter may actually have been paramount in helping to contain the disease as the mosquito was seen to be a poor flyer. So, for those residents lucky enough to live towards Europa Point or on the east side, in Catalan Bay, these were left largely healthy and unaffected while the disease was rampant in town. In more modern times, the summer Levanter can often shroud the west side still with its gloom and unbearable humidity, and while Yellow Fever has long since left Gibraltar’s shores, the levanter may find itself a contributing factor in aggravating other ailments such as asthma and arthritis. Our weather is as fascinating as the Rock itself and the people who have inhabited it. Through history, it has moulded people’s lives, the way they live and, in some cases their very health and well-being.

Accuracy. Reliability. Consistency. For all your Weather needs visit: www.meteogib.com or email: info@meteogib.com GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

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life words | Reg Reynolds

GIBRALTAR & NEWFOUNDLAND Two rocks separated by an ocean

hough on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, Gibraltar and Newfoundland have some things in common. Both officially became part of the British Empire through the Treaty of Utrecht, both are nicknamed ‘The Rock’ and I recently discovered that the Newfoundland national anthem was written by a former Colonial Secretary of Gibraltar.

Sir Cavendish Boyle enjoyed a lengthy career in the colonial administration and was Colonial Secretary of Bermuda (1882 – 1888) and Gibraltar (1888 – 1894) and from 1894 he was Government Secretary and sometimes Acting Governor of British Guiana. In March 1901 he was made Governor of Newfoundland. Today Newfoundland is the most easterly of Canada’s ten provinces but in 1901 it was a British colony. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

An online biography says of Boyle’s time at Newfoundland: “Boyle governed during a prosperous time in Newfoundland. His genuine interest in the island made him popular with the people and his tact in governing helped smooth the way for nagging concerns...” As Governor Boyle developed a friendship with the ‘difficult’ Premier of Newfoundland Sir Robert Bond and helped Guglielmo Marconi establish wireless communication between Newfoundland and England. His fondness for the island colony inspired him in to write an ode to “Newfoundland.” It was first sung on December 22, 1902 at the Casino Theatre of Newfoundland’s capital St. John’s. The original score was set to the music of E. R. Krippner, a German

bandmaster living in St. John’s but Boyle desired a more dignified score and had the music reset by his personal friend the British composer Sir Hubert Parry. On May 20, 1904 the ode was chosen as Newfoundland’s official national anthem.* Charles Cavendish Boyle was born in Bridgetown Barbados on May 29th 1849. He attended Charterhouse School in London and went on to study law and colonial administration. He was first posted to the colonial service in 1879 as magistrate for the Leeward Islands. Boyle was knighted in 1899. Newfoundlanders were dismayed when Sir Boyle left the island in 1904 to take up the post of Governor of Mauritius. In 1911 he retired to Brighton and died in London on September 17, 1916.

life In 1980, Newfoundland re-adopted the song as an official provincial anthem, the first province to have an anthem. The “Ode to Newfoundland” is still sung at public events to this day: 1. When sun rays crown thy pine clad hills, And summer spreads her hand, When silvern voices tune thy rills, We love thee, smiling land. We love thee, we love thee, We love thee, smiling land. 2. When spreads thy cloak of shimmering white, At winter’s stern command, Thro’ shortened day, and starlit night, We love thee, frozen land. We love thee, we love thee We love thee, frozen land. 3. When blinding storm gusts fret thy shore, And wild waves lash thy strand, Thro’ spindrift swirl, and tempest roar, We love thee windswept land. We love thee, we love thee

TRAVEL STORIES

emple Manning was an American writer who travelled the world and seemed to have a particular attraction to Gibraltar.

A prolific writer for the giant King Features Syndicate, Manning wrote travel stories of Gibraltar at least five times and more than fifty years apart. The first two articles were typical tourist-oriented stories, the third and fourth were precursors of war and the fifth predicted the Gibraltar we know today. June 1929 – “The city is one of the ‘melting pots’ of the world and on its streets will be found representatives of practically every nation in the world, and many of them in their picturesque native costumes.”

We love thee windswept land. 4. As loved our fathers, so we love, Where once they stood, we stand; Their prayer we raise to Heaven above, God guard thee, Newfoundland God guard thee, God guard thee, God guard thee, Newfoundland.

*Note: Although Newfoundland was not a nation it was a self-governing Dominion of the British Empire and therefore, on par with Canada, South Africa and Australia it was entitled to have a ‘national’ anthem. This distinction was dropped when Newfoundland joined the Canadian Confederation in 1949.

May 1933 –“Rarely is there a world cruise or Mediterranean cruise that doesn’t include Gibraltar in its itinerary, although it is not possible to inspect the famous fortifications and big guns. There is still plenty to see including the only monkeys in Europe not imported from some other continent. These native monkeys in the upper caves of Gibraltar are Barbary Apes and Gibraltar is very proud of them.” November 1935 – “For that mighty pillar of Hercules, which commands the east portal to the Mediterranean, is always waiting, ready for that word that means war and added activity to this port that is one of the finest war bases in the world.” June 1939 – “Whenever the spotlight of international affairs is trained on the Mediterranean, it is Gibraltar that receives the fiercest glare.” Then, in December 1958, a prediction of the Rock’s future but including a spectacular error regarding its population. It might have been a typo but if it was it was repeated in a June 1959 version of the story in the American military magazine

Stars and Stripes. Manning wrote: “As with so many things in this fast changing world, Gibraltar isn’t what it used to be. Its tremendous importance as a naval base and key strategic defense point is being nullified by the advent of nuclear weapons. The naval and garrison strength is being reduced steadily and the Royal Air Force now maintains but seven prop bombers for reconnaissance in its hangars there. Sic transit Gloria! “All this has been worrying the 255,000 [sic] Gibraltarians as they see their income steadily declining.” Manning goes on to write how Gibraltar was wanting to change its “stodgy Victorian image” and become a “Mediterranean resort”. He suggests, “Why not build a couple of luxury hotels, plus a fine lido beach, deluxe cafes and restaurants and top them off with a real casino, a super Monte Carlo or Cannes job.”

In the Stars and Stripes article Manning writes that Gibraltar is a favourite liberty spot for American sailors and points out that when the U.S. Sixth Fleet landed 15,000 sailors, “The boys just about cleaned out the stores”, and that “When a U.S. Aircraft carrier sailed for home recently it carried 56 small European cars purchased by sailors and picked up at Gibraltar.” The crazy thing is that despite the fact that Temple Manning wrote thousands of newspaper articles in a career lasting for more than 50 years (the first story I found was in 1918 and the last in 1968) I have not been able to find anything about the man himself. I have searched the internet far and wide and come up empty handed. No birth date or birth place, no obituary, no biography, no photographs, not even Wikipedia has any information. At least we are aware that he knew Gibraltar well, population figures apart. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

life words & photos | Richard Cartwright

DISTINCT CULTURE Do we have one?

his is a word that’s bandied about a lot and I wondered if there really is a `culture’ that’s ours and ours alone. Dictionary definitions say culture is, `the arts, customs, and institutions of a people.’ Does that mean we do, in fact, have one? I’ve approached a number of informed individuals on the subject and by the end of our chats I’ve come away as uncertain as I arrived to enlighten myself on the subject... One of the issues that kept recurring during my research was the point about identity overlapping with culture or blurring the lines as to whether they are unrelated or are in fact, clearly interlinked. It’s very clear in my mind that we do have a distinct identity but can’t find a clear path towards ’a distinct culture.’ That identity may not be obvious to visitors or newcomers to the Rock if they don’t

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engage with the populace as one might not do either when travelling to countries whose borders are next to other countries who may share the same language, traditions and other similarities through religious or family connections as is evident here. But that’s another matter for another day! I seek enlightenment on our culture, if we have one. Sometimes, when not giving the subject a lot of thought, I feel many tend to say we’re very rich in local culture because there’s a lot going on in terms of art, dance, drama, heritage, history and so forth but do we have a characteristic folklore in song and dance or other activity, for example, which is unique to the Rock? Spain has flamenco, Zarzuela and bullfighting, the Fado comes from Portugal, England has Morris dancing, operetta and Shakespeare, America has the blues and Country and

Western music and what’s become, the ubiquitous hamburger...so maybe then, it could be said we do have a form of art also which is distinguishable as solely Gibraltarian, someone said: Elio Cruz plays, Christian Santos and LOL Productions performances, all delivered in our Llanito parlance. That’s uniquely ours! We also very often make reference to some of our items of food which have originated in Italy and other places like Rosto, Torta de Acelgas, Calentita and even Roast Beef gets mentioned as being linked to us... I’ve also been told about a group of outsiders who were invited to experience a cultural event at the John Mackintosh Hall performed by some dance groups recently. This discerning person said they expected to see performances related to Gibraltarian culture and instead were treated to a Disney presentation and, unsurprisingly, 47

life commented on the fact it wasn’t local culture. By way of contrast, during a cruise I went on which visited St Petersburg in Russia, some of us attended a show at a local theatre described in the same way and all the performances related to Russian folklore, so there’s the difference, and that’s why sometimes the culture word just slips off the tip of the tongue and often becomes a misnomer! Another individual I contacted told me culture or even identity, takes many, many years to come to the fore and become more clearly defined... `We are a relatively young nation, country or community to be able to say we have a true and distinctive culture... At present it is a nebulous or indefinable trait…,’ this person claims, `It’s so far an unformulated culture,’ said another. However, a number of my research victims insisted there is a clear local culture because of our history and those influences from some of those countries from whence our forefathers came that have remained with us – some more evident than others... In speech, just to give an example or two, we colloquially and in fun, call the nose, `La Napia’ and the

pavement `Mashpie!’ So this well informed `street guest to the subject’ went on to explain that Lord Napier, who was one of our governors, had a very large, protruding nose, hence `Napia’ deriving from Napier and the pavement was as a result of a similar sounding Italian word describing that walkway, which was brought over by the Genoese and distorted into` Mashapie’ and presumably that could be claimed to be unique to us and forming part of our culture. `And the topic becomes more complicated if you throw in colonialism for good measure,’ the first interlocutor informed me, `We first need to recover from colonialism to develop a culture,’ she said... and now I’m totally lost and confused in my chosen debate! Taking it somewhat further and just to complicate matters more, in order to make ground over the next few hundred years and beyond, and allowing for the claim we may have a modest form of culture albeit in its infancy, is it all sustainable? Will our great, great grandchildren cook Torta de Acelgas or Calentita and attend a Llanito play if so much of our youth today is becoming more and more anglicised speaking only English amongst family and friends and will many of these learn

Spanish? Dare I say, I’ve heard some youngsters declare, `I don’t want to speak Spanish’... So is that another spanner in the works, with politics rearing its ugly head again? I’ll leave it with you and may the debate continue... To maybe `help’ or otherwise, here are a few more dictionary definitions of the word... CULTURE: A particular form or stage of civilisation, as that of a certain nation or period...Greek culture. CULTURE: The behaviours and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group: the youth culture...the drug culture...(Gibraltar’s work culture comes to mind...it’s different in that we don’t generally go for work in hotels, bars, restaurants and shops, although there are some of us who do hold those jobs... Our `job culture’ tends to lean more towards clerical work in Govt or the MOD – likewise for blue collar workers – and jobs in banks and private firms in the main.) CULTURE: The quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is excellent in art, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits etc

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

life words & photos | Mike Brufal

CHARLES RAMIREZ Music is a language that does not need words or explanation. It is an art.

ccording to his parents, Conchita and Jaime Ramirez, Charles (61) was born in Gibraltar at exactly 6am to the sound of the Dockyard siren. At this time, his uncle, Charles Caruana, left to join the seminary to study for the priesthood and he was named after him. Those with sporting memories will remember that Jaime Ramirez, at his peak, was captain of the GFA and one of the most accomplished players to wear the coveted Gibraltar shirt. Purists will argue that to date he is the best ever Gibraltarian football player. He was also a civil servant who ended his career as Government Cashier. One of his other uncles, Joe Caruana, is a successful businessman and one of the founders of the Integration With Britain Party.

the Royal College of Music where she was a pupil of the great John Williams. They have three children and two grandchildren.

Charles is married to Helen Kalamuniak, who he met as a fellow guitar student at

How he came to be one of the foremost classical guitarists in the world today

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His schooling in Gibraltar followed the traditional pattern of Mrs Harrison’s nursery school, the Christian Brothers Preparatory School where Brother Horkan was headmaster, and finally to the Grammar School under the direction of Brother O’Sullivan. By nature, he was a sportsman and for a long time his dream was to be a footballer. From a young age he can remember people asking ‘are you going to play football like your father?’ It was not to be.

was down to his uncle, Father Caruana who, after Charles did well at second year examinations at the Grammar School, decided to give him a present as a reward. When asked to name a gift, his first choice was a cello owned by his uncle but was told that it was no longer available. He looked round the room, saw a typewriter which he instantly wanted more than anything else in the world but he appreciated that this was a vital instrument used by his uncle in his ministry so he never asked for it. His eyes then saw a guitar hanging on the wall which to him meant that it had not been played for some time so he opted for the guitar. As Charles sat in his uncle’s office that Sunday with a guitar in his hands for the first time, his uncle joked ‘Look at him! All style but cannot do anything yet!... That guitar comes with lessons... with William Gomez!’

William had started a television programme on GBC showing viewers how to play the guitar at around the time he started to teach Charles. After two and a half months William took him down to the studio and he gave his first public performance on live television. He believes the opportunities he had to perform on GBC and also in a few concerts during those early years in Gibraltar, gave him invaluable experience. He also remembers with great affection the lessons in composition he had with Hector Cortes who was indefatigable in his work with the youth of Gibraltar at a time when there was precious little on offer as far as music was concerned. Charles says that he was fortunate in having such an outstanding teacher in William Gomez. William had studied with Narcisco Yepes, one of the great guitarists of his generation. Yepes was an innovator who used a guitar with ten, rather than the traditional six, strings and so devised a new approach to guitar playing. This was all passed on to William who, when Narciso was out of Madrid playing concerts, was sent to study under Quintin Esquembre Tarrega’s student since the age of 14 and cellist in the Madrid Philharmonic. Francisco Tarrega (1852-1909) is an especially influential figure in the history of the guitar, establishing the modern way of playing and helping to develop

the way the instrument itself was made, in collaboration with luthiers - especially Antonio de Torres. William was of course influenced by the innovative playing of Yepes and at the same time through Esquembre, by the then more traditional approach of Tarrega. Thus, there is a direct lineage from Tarrega through Yepes and Esquembre to William Gomez and then to Charles, who for almost forty years has passed on these traditions to his students at the Royal College of Music. At 16 Charles decided that he aspired to be a professional guitarist and whilst waiting to reach 18, he worked at Allied Bakeries and then as a messenger boy in Galliano’s Bank. In 1971, with a generous grant from the Ferrari Trust, he entered the Royal College of Music, London as a student. It is difficult to get into this College as places are sought by aspiring professionals from all over the world. After an audition he was offered a place and started the three year course. The student is allocated a professor and the instrumental lessons are on a one to one basis with no student doing the same standardised course. Each course is tailored to the requirements of the student although of course, the student has to meet the requirements set by the College in a series of exams and assessments. The instrumental lessons are complimented

with classes and lectures on musical history, theory, harmony and counterpoint to name but a few. In his second year at the RCM, Charles was the first guitar student to be invited to play a concerto with the College orchestra, performing Joaquin Rodrigo’s ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’. This was followed by his professional debut at the Purcell Room in London’s iconic South Bank Centre. This came about because the booked guitarist had to withdraw and Charles, still a student, took his place. A bonus was his first reviews in the national press. After three years, in 1974, he graduated from the Royal College with a certificate signed by the Director Sir David Wilcox and an Associate of the Royal College of Music (ARCM) diploma. Life as a professional meant giving concerts and teaching both privately and in schools. In 1978, at the young age of 25, he was appointed Professor at the Royal College of Music; a coveted position held to this day. There are another two Professors of guitar in the College. Today he performs concerts extensively in the United Kingdom and abroad. His first BBC Radio 3 programme was well received and was included in ‘Pick of the Week’. This led to more work and a regular flow of broadcasts for BBC3 Radio. Soon after his solo debut, he married Helen Kalamuniak. They played many times as a duo which requires rigorous practice as each has a separate, individual style. Helen took a break from her musical career to have three children and trained to become a Chartered Accountant. She is now Director of Finance at St Charles Catholic Sixth Form College. The good news is that they have started to play together again. In 1975, they premiered their transcription of J.S.Bach’s ‘Goldberg Variations’ at the Purcell Room. BBC Radio 3 later

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broadcasted a live performance with a studio audience. The duo went on to premiere many new transcriptions for two guitars, including Manuel de Falla’s complete ‘El Amor Brujo’. Andres Segovia heard a recording of the duo playing the Goldbergs and requested a private performance asking ‘do you have them under the fingers?’ At the conclusion, he lavishly praised the first ever transcription of the work, extolling the virtues of such an ambitious project. Later, Segovia wrote to congratulate them: ‘Many of those variations are much better on the guitar than on the harpsichord, an instrument about which I used to tease Wanda Landowska by saying it was like a guitar which has caught a strong cold’.

At the time the BBC Radio 3 used to broadcast a guitar recital/interview programme every month, during one Christmas period a programme with Andres Segovia was followed two months later by one with Narciso Yepes. The young Charles Ramirez was given the slot in between those two titans of the guitar. Talking about interpretation, Charles explained how guitarists playing Rodrigo’s ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’, for example, all sound different even though they are, or should be(!) playing from the same score. It is up to the listener to decide which version they prefer. No serious guitarist is going to alter the score which has been written by a great composer, however, it is up to the player to GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

decide how fast, how slow, how loud, how soft etc. Composers do indeed instruct the player when to play forte or piano, but how forte is forte and what kind of forte is it? After hours of practice and reflection, by some kind of symbiotic process the player can reach his own version without distorting the score. The musician decides how the music flows and unfolds without interference or distortion of the composer’s score and yet, every musician must arrive at his own personal interpretation. For the audience, this is a fascinating, never ending process which enables them to prefer one musician to another. Music is a language that does not need words or explanation. It is an art. One does not need to know why one piece is preferred to another. Simply listen and give the music a chance to work its wonders. Cleverness is only part of being a musician and musicians require many more elements in their make up to complete the circle. No composer or performer is trying to hide the music. They are appealing directly to those listening, evoking a reaction. Charles admits that at times he would prefer not to be so deeply involved in the mechanics of music making and would like to be fourteen years old again listening to Beethoven, his favourite composer, surrendering to the music, no matter who or how they are playing it – well… almost! Charles explained how he studies to be able to play concerts without reading from the score. “The key is to practice, practice and then practice some more, so that, as I tell my students... if your head falls off, your fingers carry on playing! Fortunately, I have a good memory. I know how much my brain can absorb at any one time and I learn new pieces in small increments, which I drill and improve until ready to move on to the next part. This is a very secure way of memorising for me. Not such an amazing feat, just hard work. I remember working very hard on a difficult 20 minute sonata in four movements. After

including it in my concerts, for a time I stopped playing and teaching it. Twelve years later I had to play it again and I found I remembered it all except for one chord. Don’t we all remember the jingle that went with learning the alphabet?” The non musician will appreciate that this use of memory applies to so much in life – from driving a car to learning a poem and how different people can recite the poem in a multitude of ways and interpretations without missing out a single word written by the poet.

The Royal College of Music runs a Junior Department on Saturday mornings for talented musicians of school age. The students come from all over the United Kingdom. A fair number end up in the Royal College and become professional musicians. However, he has found that pupils who are clever at music are often clever at many other things and seek another career but go on playing for their own enjoyment. One student used to get up at 5am, catch the train from Salisbury and get back home quite late in the evening after spending the whole Saturday at college. He was a grade 8 piano and grade 8 guitar. Not only was he fully committed to his music but he also represented Great Britain in the Chemistry Olympics whilst in school, and then went on to a Cambridge University. What versatility. Today, Charles has a Serbian student who is the most talented young student he 51

life has ever come across; “a musical prodigy with a capital P!” Charles would rather listen to him playing the guitar than many a professional guitarist. No wonder this is Charles’ favourite teaching job. Charles says, “How can I not be energised and exhilarated by having students like that. I do not mind giving up part of my weekend. It is also a wonderful way to educate without being at all heavy handed. I have been doing this since 1978”. He points out that Gibraltarian aspiring musicians are of course eligible to apply for places at the Royal College of Music which now offers a four year undergraduate course. If a Gibraltarian student were to apply (in general Grade 8 is a minimum requirement) and the audition is successful, a place will be offered. He believes this would qualify for a Gibraltar Government scholarship. By chance, he has a Gibraltarian student at the Junior Department, Mia Linares, who will be joined in September by her sister Ellie. They are the daughters of Matthew Linares. He is regarded by his peers as a guitar player of considerable skill and musicality. He has always taken a special interest in contemporary music and has premiered several large scale compositions which include ‘Nick’s Lament’ by Erika Fox; ‘Sonetos y Casidos del Amor Oscuro’ by Jeremy Dale Roberts: ‘Toccata’ by John Lambert; and ‘Shades V’ by Naresh Sohal. His favourite guitar is one made for him in 1973 by Jose Luis Romanillos who says with pride: “Sound is beauty and we strive to capture it in each guitar”. Charles has used this as his main guitar ever since but also plays guitars by Renato Barone and Teodoro Perez. One of concerts that stand out in his memory is a recent one he gave in California when he played Joaquin Rodrigo’s ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’ with the Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jose Luis Novo. He was delighted to be playing with Jose Luis who had also conducted the concerto for the legendary Paco de Lucia with Rodrigo in the audience. Novo had also collaborated with Narciso Yepes, who gave the Paris premiere of the work and made the first famous recording of it, and there was 52

therefore a connection between Charles and Maestro Novo. Another very special occasion was two years ago when he played at the Haydnsaal in the Schloss Esterhazy, Eisentadt, Austria where Joseph Haydn worked and had his music performed for more than 25 years. A third is a concert in Jerusalem in the Concert Hall of the Brigham Young Mormon University. This is where the young American students go and do a semester. It is a white stone university on top of Mount Scopus overlooking the Mount of Olives. The 250 seat concert hall has amazing acoustics and on there are massive arched windows which rise from the stage floor to ceiling. This enables the audience - should they not like what they hear or get bored - to look out through the windows and see the Old City of Jerusalem lit up at night. There is no fee for the artist but a collection is taken so the artist knows immediately whether the audience enjoyed the concert or not! In 1987, Charles organised a tribute to Andres Segovia at the Royal College of Music and performed alongside John Williams and Carlos Bonnell. Charles wrote ‘Technical Development for Guitarists’ for the Trinity College London (TCL) grade exams. The book was used for ten years in over 84 countries and has been influential world-wide in developing the way the guitar is taught and examined. He has taken the same approach plus a great deal more on a website which teaches the guitar from beginner to advanced. It can be accessed on maestroworkshop.com and has been online for two years. Helen and Charles are also writing a book on the guitar - its history, anecdotes and observations on its repertoire.

Charles’s dream is to, in effect, carry on Hector Cortes’ work with young musicians; and devise a programme to stimulate and encourage the musical talent of young Gibraltarians in an inspiring, fun, productive and de-mystified way which also makes it easy for parents to support their children as they learn. It would follow along the lines of ‘El Sistema’ in Venezuela, though adapted to Gibraltar’s special needs. These are just thoughts that would need developing with the help of a body like the Department of Education, perhaps. Signum Classics are to release Charles’ latest albums. Already available are Rodrigo’s ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’ and ‘Fantasia para un Gentilhombre’ with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe conducted by Douglas Boyd. The director of Signum Classics said: ‘I have always loved the classical guitar and am therefore delighted that we are releasing these wonderful and well-loved concertos with Charles Ramirez, a player with a phenomenal technique, whose performances are characterised by his exuberance, colour and depth of expression’. Bishop Charles Caruana died on 1 October 2010 and Charles would like to give a concert in memory of his uncle around this time. Monsignor Charles Azzopardi has agreed to organise the musical event. It will take place in Saint Theresa’s Church in October. The money raised will be donated to a Trust Fund which has been set up to in memory of the Bishop.

He is sorry that events have conspired to prevent him from having as much involvement with Gibraltar music as he would have liked. Over the years he has played a few concerts and these have included recitals in the Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned, the Convent ballroom, and a concerto in the Alameda Amphitheatre with the Gibraltar Philharmonic Orchestra under Karel Chichon. He regrets never having played in St. Michael’s Cave. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

scene words | Elena Scialtiel photos | David Packwood Photography Spain

ZOE LOUISE A soundtrack to your happiest moments

dense, intense, melodious voice and a fresh, dainty and poised stage presence will provide the soundtrack to gourmet dinners at La Sala, the new restaurant opening on the Sunborn floatel this summer. Zoe Louise is not new to the Gibraltar live music scene and nightclub circuit, having performed at Dusk. She is well known for her regular gigging in bars, restaurants and nightclubs along the Costa del Sol, where she moved from Bristol eleven years ago. The drastic change in her pre-teen life made her discover her talent: “I was bored, so I started playing around with music programmes on my computer and recording my singing. I liked how it sounded, and I liked to perform, so I asked my mum to send me to singing lessons. She said ‘no’ at first, as I had taken GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

swimming, ballet, piano and gymnastics classes before and never followed through. But then she noticed that ‘funny wobble’ in my voice and decided to give it a go.” The ‘funny wobble’ turned out to be a natural vibrato, and after a few lessons there was no stopping Zoe, who sang at school assemblies and pretty much any occasion she could show off her soulful voice. As soon as she was of a legal age to be performing in nightclubs, her career started, and, with the help of her mother Marion - aka ‘Mamager’ - Zoe has made performing her full-time job, working up to six nights a week in summer and three or four in winter. “There’s plenty of demand for live singers on the Coast, and there’s always a gig for me. It’s fun, but tiring. Because voice needs resting, I don’t work seven days a week to

avoid straining my vocal cords. I am often asked where my big voice comes from and the answer is simple: I am trained to bring it out from deep down in the stomach. It is easy to get lazy and forget about vocal exercises, but I need to keep it top form, because after all, if I cannot sing, I don’t know what else I would do. It is my life!” Her most emotional gig ever was singing at her brother’s wedding: “I’d never been so nervous before, not on any big stage, not at competitive events, where I usually do get a bit of the jitters. Otherwise, I am usually cool on stage. I do get emotional at wedding ceremonies; it is inevitable when I am singing a couple through the most important day of their lives.” Zoe has an extensive repertoire and is always willing to learn new songs: “when a bride-to-be specifically asks me for one 53

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or more songs she’d like to have featured at her wedding, I do my best to accommodate her request. It’s her special day, not mine, and her choice cannot be constrained within a standard repertoire.” Obviously, some songs are more difficult to learn than others, Zoe says, but she relishes the challenge. And she notes that most successful songs available are about breakups, narrowing down her choice when she sets up wedding programmes: “Heartaches just seem easier to write about,” she comments, “look at Adele and Sam Smith: they made a fortune from theirs! Maybe one day, I will too... Zoe doesn’t limit her stock to what she likes personally, but prides herself with a wide range throughout musical genres: “Appreciating music means understanding how good artists

are at whatever genre they compose and perform in, so even if I don’t like it, I always appreciate its artistic value, and I am ready to sing it. Personally, I enjoy ballads, because I can belt them out and make the most of my vocal potential.” She knows just the right song for all tastes and occasions, and she likes to improvise about what to sing next, after assessing her audience on the night, and evaluating what they might expect from her. From 60s and 70s classics to club anthems, from heavy metal to church hymns, from opera to chart toppers, from chill-out to musicals, Zoe mostly performs covers, because her audience wants to be entertained by hearing what they know and can sing along to. However, she is slowly but surely building up material for an original EP: “I haven’t found my signature yet, so it will be a blend of pop, pop-rock, R’n’B - whatever can flaunt my vocals.” Inspiration comes from ‘life’, and everywhere and anywhere is the right place to pen some lyrics: “Once I was on a plane, in a good mood, excited about my destination, so I wrote a happy song.” There are down-to-earth sides to the glam lifestyle for this petite blue-eyed blonde when she gears up to sprinkle pixie dust all over your wedding or soirée: “We have to drive to the venue, unload the equipment, set up the sound system and do sound checks. Thankfully, my mum helps and watches over me, if the place turns too rowdy.”

Visit www.famestage.com/ zoelouisemusic and www. zoelouise.com for videos and news on forthcoming gigs.

She doesn’t play any instruments during her gigs, but she can compose on piano and have her melodies properly arranged by professionals. Her London manager provides session musicians for her recording as a soloist. “I am under the same management company as several artists from the last series of The Voice UK, and I am involved with a company called Famestage, an online music competition bringing talent together from all over the world. My manager is the CEO of Famestage and we will soon be launching the company in Spain, in search of more talented artists.” 55

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5 & 6 SEPTEMBER 2015 KINGS OF LEON I DURAN DURAN ESTO PA TOM ODELL I THE FEELING LAWSON I THIRD WORLD I RAE MORRIS I REACH

PADDY TAYLOR I STRANGE BREW I TIM GARCIA FT AFTERHOURS + MANY MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED

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Cliché & House Music Building a Movement and Defeating the Negative Stigma

uilding a familiar brand in Gibraltar is a difficult enough task on its own… developing it so that it has a positive stigma attached to it and a great reputation, is even more challenging. Appealing to a key demographic of young house music lovers, Cliché is now moving into its third year of party planning and deejaying as an independent label. Tech house fans and homegrown deejays Trevor Garcia, Jared Lavagna, Jesse Lagares and Ethan Marin have made waves amongst some of their international counterparts who have helped make the underground dance music scene what it is today. Taking frequent trips to Malaga and Leeds to revel in the flourishing music scenes of these metropolitan cities, the founders of Cliché have built connections with the founding fathers of underground GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

dance music, including some of Leeds’ biggest names and friends of the up and coming Hector Couto, who is set to hit the decks at Ibiza’s favourite basement level club Sankeys, this Summer. Cliché is in its third year of event hosting, with some of their bigger and more successful ventures including the likes of Ben Pearce and Hot Creations’ Farrow and Miguel Puente, but as time progresses the process does not get any easier. The struggle comes with finding appropriate venues for hosting their club nights. Whilst they have the capacity to draw in big names, and have proved that their own musical talents are certainly worthy of playing with the big boys, certain hurdles are setting them back from reaching the heights they’re striving for. ‘Gibraltar doesn’t exactly have the best clubs in the

World,’ Trevor laments, ‘we’ve seemed to struggle…’ They continually draw in the crowds and sell out most events at full capacity, with a keen, eager, young following of budding house music lovers that dream wistfully of expanding their horizons to Ibiza and Croatia and Miami at the biggest dance music festivals in the World. Cliché offers their fans an insight into the underground club night one might find in the centre of Manchester or London, or even Barcelona, but with a communal vibe that makes everyone feel comfortable amongst their friends. Having to cater to smaller venues and smaller crowds, clubbers are able to personally meet some of the acts who would often be ushered in and out of the DJ booth quietly at one of the more well known clubs on the scene. Although this does create issues with bigger named DJs who are less likely to want to play to such a small crowd in such a small club. 57

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Summer Line-Up Gearing up for their Summer 2015 line up, Cliché recently launched a host of parties for the upcoming months, the first having been and gone, with budding producer, Farrow who has dropped records on top techno label Toolroom Records. They are also geared up to host the official after party of an upcoming music event on 11th July, with young producer Denney who was recently snapped up by the famed Hot Creations label for a tune that is set to be a massive hit this Summer. August’s celebration of Cliché’s third birthday will see an appearance from veteran Fuse resident, Rossko on the 8th, and the ‘End of Summer Party’ will close off the season with a day party presenting German Brigante, on 29th August. Speaking to Gibraltar based Trevor and Jared on the growth of the house music scene in Gibraltar; they touch upon the growth in popularity. ‘Before, there was very little interest, now, I think there is too much.’ The trend has seen a rise in local competition, through parties hosted 58

under the newly formed local label ‘Dazed and Confused’. However there is no real threat in this line of event hosting on the Rock. They share the same volunteers and promoters and passion, and surely there is always the desire for another party? 16+ age category parties are also on the rise recently, to cater to a demographic that is generally shunned by Gibraltar’s nightlife scene. The Struggles and the Stigma of Drug Use Through their pursuit, Cliché has been dealt their fair share of hurdles, from losing their venue at the last minute, to having their headlining Christmas party act caught in a snow storm back home, Trevor and Jared speak of the difficulty they face from higher powers, with the stigma that is attached to these sorts of events. Whilst drug use has attached itself to dance music festivals, particularly house music, on an international front, Cliché does not promote this aspect of the clubbing experience by any means. ‘We’re trying to bring new things and new parties and places where people can go out and think ‘wow’ and it’s difficult to pull off as it’s kind of frowned upon by some,’ Trevor explains.

‘Surely you’re not promoting anything negative?’ I retort. The two nod, ‘we always have professionals working with us, be it security or door staff, but still there is this stigma of anti social behavior that is associated with the music.’ Gone are the days of illegal raves under the acid house music revolution of 1980s Britain and the rise in caution of associated party drugs. Some argue that the immense growing popularity of the new wave of house music and the drug use linked to it, is on par with the acid house movement that led to Margaret Thatcher’s Government clamping down heavily on club owners, deejays and equipment rentals. I agree with Cliché on this one, the movement really is all about the music… ‘I think people have gotten the wrong impression of us sometimes with what we do and how we want to grow. They just see the bad side.’ With organising the events, comes the task of deciding on acts; ‘bookings are based on our own tastes and preferences. We discuss who we like, who we can afford and who we think can attract a crowd. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

scene There is a risk of losing money so we need to balance it in the middle somewhere.’ Third and fourth members of the Cliché team, Ethan and Jesse, have succeeded in expanding the brand to Leeds, a Northern city and core of much of the underground house movement that also temporarily homes many Gibraltarian students. Both host a residency at underground hot spot Mint Club with Ethan set to spend the summer season in Ibiza, building his repertoire and expanding his scope through the very close contacts he’s worked hard to make. ‘He’s having an awesome time,’ Trevor grins, ‘he’s made a lot of connections either through people we’ve brought to Gibraltar, or met in Leeds.’

Ethan & Trevor

Moving on to the prospect of expanding their brand into the Spanish market with the help of their contacts in Malaga, the two explain that the scene is monumentally different. ‘Attracting people to the parties is going to be so difficult, because here people know who we are and what they’re going to get. In Spain, we would be starting from scratch and we’d have to bring huge names to stand out.’ Many deejays, they tell me, adapt their style when they visit the Andalucia area to accommodate to the fans that are traditionally into faster paced dance music. ‘People wouldn’t like the slow bassy music they like in London.’ Finally, I request an elevator pitch from the two, for all those who may have no interest in house music and are completely lost by this point in the article. ‘That’s a hard one… we’ve always done what we love and we are just trying to put the music that we love out there. We’re doing what we do because we like it and we want people to have fun and enjoy it, although we understand it isn’t for everyone. We’re really pleased that we are ever growing in popularity. No one thought it would get this far. This needs to be recognised as something that Gibraltar can benefit from and not something negative.’

Jared

More information on upcoming line ups can be found on the Cliché Facebook page www.facebook.com/clicheaudio

Jesse GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

advertorial

CALE NTITA Saturday 20th of June 2015 Casemates & Market Place

Calentita started in 2007 with 10 patio tents and an enthusiastic crowd numbering several hundred. In 2014 there were more than 30 tents and the number of people attending had increased to more than 6,000.

The hustle and bustle of Calentita is an integral part of the event. We rub shoulders with other members of our community, chat and eat in close quarters, which is part of the enjoyment of the evening.

Calentita has grown from being a food festival to being a cultural event supporting and promoting not just food, but many other areas where Gibraltar boasts impressive home grown talent – from photography, to graphic design, poetry, journalism, dance, music and film making.

If you would like to take part, get in touch with the organisers immediately to make arrangements: owen@ womcp.com

Calentita has grown substantially over the past eight years, thanks to: the hard work of Word of Mouth building it into the event that it is today; the support and financial backing of the Minsitry of Culture, and most importantly; the enthusiastic endorsement of the event, and what it celebrates, by the community of Gibraltar. So, what of year nine? Calentita will take place on Saturday 20th of June 2015. There are already close to 30 tents confirmed for Calentita 2015. The event continues to attract interest from new parties with the promise of some new stalls not previously featured. Casemates and Market Place are within easy walking distance from most of Gibraltar’s highest density population areas, e.g. town, Upper Town, Westside, Varyl Begg, Waterport Terraces, Ocean Village, Laguna and Glacis. This means that a very high percentage of you – our event-goers – will not have to worry about parking, as you will come to Casemates on foot. We are sure that Casemates remains the most suitable location for Calentita. By expanding properly into MarketPlace in 2014, we have been able to ensure that Gibraltar’s main square is not overly crowded. This year we will again use Market Place to host Calentita’s Second Stage, the Long Table and our market stalls. Importantly, Market Place will also host approximately half of our delicious food stalls.

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KITCHEN EXHIBITION Calling All Arty Types

ave you ever imagined a place for like-minded, artistic souls to hang out together, share ideas, develop them and watch them flourish into fruition? Well for a limited time such a place exists in Gibraltar… Kitchen was a project headed by enthusiast of all things creative, Stefano Blanca Sciacaluga and friends he met through the Tumblr blog ‘Creative Gibraltar’, a directory he invented to bring together artists in Gibraltar. It acted as an online portfolio for those who shared a common interest in the arts. Since the days of Creative Gibraltar, and with the help of the Little Constellation Network for Contemporary Art and the Gibraltar Government, ‘Kitchen’, a physical space, was born.

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

Held at the temporary space ‘Listen to the Sirens’ in the Montagu Bastion Vaults, the exhibition ran as a studio space from April 30th – May 30th and then as an exhibition through the first week of June. Described as ‘a blank canvas for an open call to young artists of every medium’ the exhibition was welcome to anyone who needed a space to develop their art. Stefano spoke of a focus on young people who don’t know how to get their art displayed publically and are put off by local competitions. His vision was for the space to open empty, like a blank canvas, and close with a full eclectic mish mash of local art splayed across the walls. Events hosted throughout the duration of May included an open rehearsal by well-loved local band Headwires, a Life Drawing workshop, a graffiti workshop, a pottery workshop, a fashion workshop and a showing of Andy

Warhol & Paul Morissey’s ‘Trash’. During the initiation of the project, which was backed by the Ministry for Culture, Stefano emphasised the need for such a space for youngsters in Gibraltar who have nowhere to carry out their work. Whilst the space did not offer much in the form of physical equipment, there was a warm, welcoming aura bursting with an eagerness for newcomers and interested individuals who may have just wished to admire the local talent. The exhibition followed no rules or regulations, giving artists the freedom to carry out their visions with almost entirely free rein. Surely, this relieved much of the pressure that is often put on artists. The potential to work on any kind of artistic medium you wish without judgment, truly set this venture apart from others.

life

A committed social media user, Stefano documented the entire Kitchen process through the exhibition’s Facebook, Instagram and website. The event line up could be followed via Facebook, with regular updates posted. Stefano’s level of commitment to the project was unwavering, having given up almost all of his free time to maintain the exhibition and work on his own projects. The uncertainty of the project and whether it would even hit it off clearly did nothing to deter Stefano, he was too excited over the prospect of meeting up with like minded people in a space they could call their own and potentially collaborate on large projects… Mid way through the month, Stefano and his co-curator Chris Tavares expressed their joy in how well the space had developed. Rooms had been split into working areas for regulars that used the studio to paint, display photography, create pottery, tie dye their clothes, share knowledge, make new friends and ultimately, develop a scene. Chris noted that this is exactly how art movements are formed, by bringing creative people together and giving them the opportunity 62

to work under one roof. The Gibraltar scouts even got involved, using the studio to build a set of flagpoles for Stefano and Chris to display their Kitchen banner across. The project massively appealed to the Little Constellation Network, which brings together geo-political micro areas in Europe, under the context of contemporary art. They initiated the Listen to the Sirens Space in the Montagu Bastion, and took note of Stefano’s plea for an unconventional space to work in. It certainly ties in with the Mantra of Listen to the Sirens, which is described as ‘a an exhibition programme based on continuous dialogue between the artists of the Little Constellation network and artists who live and work in Gibraltar.’ One huge advocate of the project was artist Alan Perez who used the space to work on a project relating to the 75th anniversary of the evacuation. From the perspective of someone who is well known and respected on the local art scene, having won many awards in local competitions, Alan praised the

establishment of Kitchen. He expressed never having been able to carry out this kind of project due to not having the space available. His work featured articles of clothing, dipped in plaster and displaying the names and stories of former Gibraltarian evacuees. Describing the studio as ‘buzzing with activity’ Alan welcomed the opportunity to exchange ideas with others. He urged the Government to further explore and support the concept. The secret behind the ambiguity of the name, Stefano claims, is exactly the mystery that it evokes. People who might be hearing of Kitchen for the first time will certainly be intrigued about what it might offer. Also, in plainer terms, the kitchen is the room in a house where things are most often created… The Kitchen exhibition will run until the 5th of June. Anyone and everyone are welcome to visit the exhibition at the Little Constellations ‘Listen to the Sirens’ Gallery at Montagu Bastion. Catch up with all action via facebook.com/kitchenthespace or kitchenthespace.com. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

scene words | Elena Scialtiel

LAND ESCAPIST Albert Danino: Impressions of a lifetime

osing as the démodé British gentleman painter in corduroys and Panama hat, working in the countryside, Albert Danino likes to be likened to the Impressionists, and indeed, his style shares with the late Nineteenth Century artistic current, a love for rural landscapes. “I love to paint from life, setting up my easel at a panoramic spot, no matter how hot the weather may be and regardless of flies and mosquitoes which sometimes stick to the canvas and that is part of the adventure.” Albert says, his open air excursions never happen without canvas, palette and easel in tow. While his family enjoys the great outdoors, he concentrates on producing a masterpiece in one afternoon. “I do finish my pictures at home but can usually paint the best part of it in a handful of hours, to take advantage of

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natural light. I paint fast, but I must get the right ‘feeling’ from it. I need to see my soul in what I am doing. If it doesn’t ‘speak’ to me after some brushstrokes, it gets more and more difficult to correct the mistakes.” His artwork is traditional, influenced by Impressionism and watercolourist poetics, although he mostly uses oils that ‘take longer to dry, but afford better effects and layering’ and are more forgiving to involuntary slips of the brush. His favourite subject matters are green fields and whitewashed farmhouses, or the brickwork roofs crowning a hilltop, dividing the canvas space in geometric blocks with oblique and undulated lines that bequeath pictorial dynamism to the stillness of the scene, alternating refreshing hues to a splash of gold in the autumnal leaves or

the outright chill of snowy peaks. Albert doesn’t disdain trying his hand at surrealism or dabbling in contemporary collage: see for instance his flagship collage, Low Tide. This is an imaginative three-dimensional interpretation of the seashore, with sea-polish glass pebbles arranged in starfish and fish shapes, and glued on sand-covered canvas. “For the realistic touch, I added a real crab and some shells.” Albert has been painting all his life, and has participated in collective exhibitions achieving commendations since his school days, but he only had his first ‘almost solo’ exhibition in early 2015, when he and his childhood friends Martin Gonzalez and Pepe Piñero joined forces in the ‘Three Amigos’ affair, for good old times’ sake, and they exhibited side by side their 63

scene pictures and poetry created and collected throughout a lifetime together. He inherited his artistic flare from his father who used to make ship models: “He would take photos or draw sketches for plans in scale, to reproduce them with wood or cardboard. I still have a good selection of those models at home.” Now, Albert paints for fun and for his friends and relatives: most of his artwork is designed to be a gift for a special occasion or to remember a pleasant encounter: “Once we stopped at a quaint taberna de campo in Sierra de Grazalema. I liked it so I sketched it and gave the picture to the landlord. Long time after that, I passed by that way again, and I was pleasantly surprised to see he had it framed and hanging in the restaurant.” Many people must have an ‘Albert Danino’ original tucked away in their attic, then, since he is well known and loved around town, enjoying a busy retirement that drives him to stick his hands in many social pies, when they are not dipped in paint! One of his earliest collectors was the London police inspector who retrieved his portfolio in a twist of events which ultimately lead to Albert reading Neo-Latin

languages instead of Art in college, and to his returning to Gibraltar as a teacher at the Hebrew School and in Bayside. “Art has remained my serious hobby throughout,” he says, as he’s been instilling in generations of students the appreciation of fine arts. “My students still remember me for my painting sceneries for school plays...” Being an eager art student in school, after early years’ life drawing in Miss Bezzina’s class, held on Nazareth House rooftop - “lavadero, as it was commonly known,” Albert recalls - and after bagging a Commonwealth award for his picture without really understand fully the breadth of his achievement, it was a natural outcome for teenage Albert to apply for a place in Art College. Samples of his artwork were required by the admitting commission, so he proceeded to build up a portfolio for his submissions. Quite literally, because in those times large cardboard files were not readily available in shops, so he had to craft one out of a recycled box,

to fit his samples in. At the post office, however, the portfolio was refused air mail fare because it exceeded the standard dimensions, and it was offered alternative arrangements as surface mail. That would have not guaranteed delivery on time for the imminent deadline, so young and eager Albert had to resort to Plan B and ask an acquaintance who was flying to UK the next day, to actually take the portfolio on the plane with them as part of their luggage: “And that was the last time I saw it...” Albert sighs. Until he received a phone call from London, a couple of month after settling in Birmingham to study French, Spanish and Portuguese (including a lovely residency in Coimbra): the police had contacted him to inform him that his ‘stolen artwork’ was retrieved as collateral of a wider enquiry on more serious allegations!

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

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DRAMA QUEEN Hats off to Karen Lawson

ery convincing as the golddigger trying to bag herself a millionaire husband online and speed dating in The Regina Monologues, one of this year’s Trafalgar Theatre Group entries to the Royal Navy Drama Festival, best female newcomer nominee Karen Lawson swears that in real life she is nothing like her character. Surely, something must have rubbed off during rehearsals, because she oozed confidence on stage and a wicked sense of humour that made her own the role as if she was born to play it – and for nonchalantly treading the boards in red stiletto heels and Anna Karenina styled hat. And because she is the queen of witty chatting, entertaining and unapologetically theatrical. Petite and unassuming in her daily life, Karen belongs in the spotlight like a GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

seasoned comedienne and can make you adore the most despicable character – except perhaps for her Queen of Hearts performance in the pantomime Alice in Wonderland, which apparently terrified some younger members in the audience! Relatively new to acting other than pantomime and chorus lines, this was Karen’s first major role, and she puts her success down to Andrew Dark’s experienced directorship and the teamwork and encouragement of the rest of the cast. When she was cast as Anna, i.e. Anne of Cleves, in this modern take on Henry VIII’s story, where he is a modern tycoon in a fancy coffin, and all his six wives are present at his funeral, Karen wondered at first why she wasn’t assigned another role, and whether she would pull this one off. “Eventually, I realised that Andrew is a genius, and the way he rewrote my part to drop the clumsy

German accent and to fit it around my strongest suit just confirmed that.” She almost ran for her life when the cast was told there wouldn’t be prompting for their production: “Andrew told us at dress rehearsals that no prompter was needed because he knew we could handle it as professionals. I absolutely fragmented there, because monologues can make you feel isolated and prompting is a welcome safety net” Karen confesses, “but my costars knew most of the script by heart and would come whispering to the rescue, in case. I was not afraid of missing just one line, though, but going completely blank on stage and forget my name and why I was standing there!” In real life, when she is not busy with Rotary, Childline and SAAFA charities, Karen is a tour guide and takes pride in ‘educating’ English speaking visitors 65

scene about Gibraltar being so much more than monkeys and spectacular views, with a quick but passionate lesson in history and heritage. And she adds: “That can call for some acting: if the Rock is under the Levanter, the monkeys wet and windswept and the views negligible, I have to put on an Oscar-worthy performance to make the guests appreciate this Rock as much as I do.” Therefore, she is used to giving public speeches, although acting is a different affair, because you morph into someone different and need to mimic their gestures as well, particularly when the part relies on the confident use of an unfamiliar prop: “I have a basic mobile phone, just to make calls, but my character keeps on scrolling through her smart phone for her online dating, and so I borrowed one and I had to learn the appropriate gestures for it, including whether it was held landscape or portrait.” Her primadonna aspirations didn’t go unnoticed in the tour guiding circles: “During a St. Michael’s Caves tour, I was taking a little longer than I should have at the stalagmite and barred the way to the next group, lead by my dear friend Sue Darlington, who also is the TTG prompter and whom I missed so much on stage this time. So I jokingly exclaimed ‘sorry folks, but everybody knows that we have to move when Sue says so’, and she countered immediately ‘and there goes the girl who last night on stage tried to make us believe she is a natural blonde, and forty-ish’!” Nor went unnoticed her odd behaviour to those who spotted her around town mouthing her lines while

The Regina Monologues - Trafalgar Theatre Group, photo courtesy of Ian Dignam Back: Anna L. Felices, Ann Balestrino, Karen Lawson Front: Roseann Victor, Angela Ferguson, Nadine Gonzalez

striding about: “I kept on practising my lines out loud, or semi-loud, and I am sure people believed I was some sort of nutter who talked to herself, with the added embarrassment of what I was actually saying, if they managed to hear the lot! Until a friend advised me to hold my mobile phone to my ear while rehearsing, so I could save appearances pretending I was having a real conversation...” Karen had fun with this production and would do it all over again next time, in any role she is cast for, except for a singing one, but she believes that everyone willing to have a go at amateur theatre deserves a chance, so she is happy to step aside for fresh talent next year, for newcomers to experience the thrill as she did. And if you aren’t that confident, dare it anyway, because you’ll get great coaching from directors and other group members. “The best part of amateur theatre is the community spirit, and whatever role you participate in, you feel part of a big family and forge friendships. I joined the TTG six years ago, and I’ve been doing a variety of jobs backstage, until I took the plunge as an extra the panto chorus and later I was upgraded to the supporting role of the Queen of Hearts.”

She must have enjoyed the ‘off with their heads!’ war cry, if she returned on stage for the memorial service of another axe-happy monarch: “After all the work we put into it, into getting every step and every line right, making sure I wouldn’t blank out or crash into the furniture, trip or fall off the stage altogether, it’s a shame it lasted only three nights. After that, I was on a roll, and all like: ‘so what now, that’s it? Aren’t we going on a tour?’” An army wife, Karen came to Gibraltar in 1994 in tow of her mariner husband and they made the Rock their home. “My fifth son was born at the Naval Hospital nineteen years ago. I would have been Henry’s ideal wife: I would have produced the abundance of heirs and spares he longed for. No one would say about me ‘off with her head!’, I hope.”

The Best Female Newcomer award went to Angela Ferguson for her portrayal of Anne Boleyn while RoseAnn Victor won Best Actress as Katherine of Aragon. Trafalgar Theatre Group were the Overall Winners. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

leisure

TEST OF ENDURANCE Gibraltar’s Triathletes

ecoming a triathlete is not a venture for faint or halfhearted individuals. Dedication is integral. Members of the Gibraltar Triathlon Association commit to approximately 20 hours a week of training, incorporated into two to three sessions a day, making up a weekly swimming distance of around 15 kilometers, a cycling distance of anything from 300 – 400 kilometers and a running distance of 40 – 80 kilometers. The daily calorie intake needed to maintain this level of activity is a massive five to six thousand. For those who are not familiar, the Triathlon concept is made up of three disciplines; swimming, cycling and running. The sport is relatively new, having been formed in 1989, and introduced to the Olympics at the very recent turn of the century. As a sport, it is ‘very politically GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

correct. It’s one of the only sports in the world where there is absolute equality between male and female so in all professional competitions the prize money is equal for males and females. ’Competing on the same course but in different categories, the number of male and female competitors is just about equal too. Whilst the males on average do better, the ‘gap is not as big as in other sports.’ The Iron Man! Triathletes competing in the ultimate endurance test, the World Triathlon Corporation’s ‘Iron Man Challenge’ are categorised to compete against others within their age group, each representing a bracket of five years. Each competition has an overall winning time, whilst further winners are chosen from each age bracket. President of the Gibraltar Triathlon

Association, Chris Walker, has competed in the Hawaii based circuit twice, dubbing it the most amazing race in the World. ‘It’s brutal, but it’s just incredible.’ The course covers a mammoth distance of 224 kilometers, split between a 3.8 km swim, a cycling distance of 180 km and a 42 km run. The Gibraltar Team Gibraltar’s triathlete standard is outstanding considering the Rock’s small size and limited number of association members. Having achieved Gold in the team event in Bermuda’s 2013 NatWest Island Games, the ten strong Gibraltar team will be taking their Champion rank to the 2015 Games in Jersey, late this June. Local team members include Chris Walker, Andrew Gordon, Robert Matto, Mark Francis, Sean Randall, Mark Chichon, Akhil Viz, Tobie Muir, Edgar Harper and Chris 67

leisure Redondo. This year, Chris is insistent that the competition will be of a much higher calibre, with Team Jersey, an ‘outstanding professional triathlon team’, competing on their home course after having taken time out not participating in the 2013 Island Games. On the subject, Chris briefly touches on the debate on whether professional athletes should be allowed to compete amongst the others who can be categorized as semi-professional, as they still maintain careers outside of the sport. In training, the team often cycles to Jímena and the surrounding areas. They run and swim frequently on the Rock as well as compete nationally in Spain and Internationally at other tournaments including the Commonwealth Games. The Gibraltar Association is a full member of the International Triathlon Union, a membership that allows them to compete in the World Championships. Local triathletes have participated in a number of World Championships; with Chris Walker taking Gold in his age category of 45 – 49 at last year’s Edmonton based competition. Four association members will participate in the 2015 championship in Chicago, later this Summer. ‘For a little place with a little association, we do ok,’ Chris grins. They are consistently looking for new members, with an open competition held in August each year. The ‘NatWest Gibraltar Triathlon’ is open to athletes of all capabilities, giving them the opportunity to test their skills of endurance. The turn out in most recent years has peaked at

Bermuda Team

an impressive 150. The course covers the shortest possible triathlon circuit, with a swimming distance of 300 meters, a cycling distance of 10 kilometers and a running distance of two and a half kilometers. Chris insists that the course is aimed at novices and acts as a ‘grass roots level policy to introduce the sport’ to the community. The association aims to draw in new members and to train and develop locals to participate internationally. The Ever Shifting Triathlon Course Much of the sport’s charm is the huge variation of courses put to the competitors in different tournaments. Chris Walker, who has been involved for fifteen years, insists that ‘because you have these three

disciplines of swim, cycle, run, courses vary massively. Even the same course with different weather conditions can be completely different. No two courses are ever the same. There are no specific records for certain courses. There are best times, but as far as records are concerned, they don’t really exist. There are hilly courses, flat courses, windy courses... The swim and run distances can vary a lot too. It’s part of the attraction because you don’t know what you’re letting yourself in for.’ The Island Games circuit is typically made up of a 1500-meter swim, a 40-kilometer bike ride and 10 kilometer run. The winning time will likely be around 1 hour and 55 minutes. As daunting as a triathlon may sound to many of us mere moderately fit individuals, Chris explains that the key to maintaining the ability and stamina necessary is ‘a lot of training.’ He adds, ‘it’s difficult to describe triathlon because it looks much more difficult than it actually is, and also because it’s such a new sport, in most of the races that we carry out within Spain and Andalucia, it’s a very participation friendly sport. It’s not all about the top twenty guys, it’s about everybody just finishing and setting themselves a goal. It’s very much an all inclusive sport for all levels of ability.’ The Association can be contacted via their Facebook group ‘Hercules Triathlon Club’ facebook.com/groups/herculestriclub.

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leisure words | Isabella Linares

WASHINGTON DC Monumentally Good Time

Most tourists are instinctively drawn to the city’s array of admission-free Smithsonian museums and the ‘open-air museum’ that is the National Mall; but if you care to take a step away from the suggestions in the conventional travellers’ guidebook, you might just discover something of the intriguing life and culture unique to Washington, a city almost as famous for its scandals as it is for its politics.

it was during this early experience that I discovered my first Washington ‘quirk’. Here, within earshot of the cacophony of bustling tourists congregating at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, nestles the untamed Theodore Roosevelt Island, strikingly incompatible with the purposebuilt metropolis which encircles it. A little like the idiosyncrasy of the jagged wilderness of our very own Rock which emerges out of the urban landscape, this corner of natural land seems to have escaped the clutches of the city’s development. Those who are adventurous enough can attempt an untidy mooring along the riverbank and quite literally lose themselves, following the beaten tracks into the very centre of the island.

My introduction to the city’s most recognisable monuments was, bizarrely, by kayak tour along the Potomac River; and

Alternatively, and for a less hard-won adrenaline rush, there are many surprises to be had within the walls of the city.

o the surprise of many visitors who stop in at the capital on educational excursions or are simply passing through on their ‘Great American Road Trip’, the seat of the US government, with all its patriotic trimmings, is also a beautiful city.

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While I do recommend the view of the monuments from the river, “hanging out at the mall” takes on a decidedly different meaning in Washington, and a visit to the stage upon which presidents and protesters alike have stood should not be overlooked. This stretch of Washington is always alive with commotion and, in the same way as it is not uncommon to see our own MPs out and about around Main Street, you will often catch a glimpse of the President speeding out of the gates of the White House in a procession of black SUVs, or even lifting off from his private helipad. On one occasion, in fact, reaching the foot of the Lincoln Memorial on an afternoon stroll, my friends and I walked in on the filming of Washington’s Olympic bid and were asked to contribute as international visitors to the capitalalthough I never did find out if we made the final cut!

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The view around the Tidal Basin

In the evenings, a cycle along the Mall and past the Capitol building presents another stunning experience of the city in, arguably, its most flattering light. Along this two-mile-long emerald green esplanade, the surrounding avenues are peppered with the city’s most-visited landmarks and museums, but if you venture south of the imposing Washington Monument and work your way around the Tidal Basin, you will find two particularly special sites.

While most of the monuments in DC commemorate great successes in battle, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial stands out as a powerful statement against violence, with the words: “I hate war” engraved into the immense slabs which border the enclosure. Martin Luther King Jr.’s poetically peaceful memorial appropriately neighbours Roosevelt’s; and the vast piece of stone out of which his likeness is carved also hosts a quotation

The impressive Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial bathed in the afternoon sun 70

from his famous “I have a dream” speech on the National Mall, reading: “Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” Linking all these monuments together is, of course, the Capitol building; deliberately located on higher ground than the White House as a symbol of the nation’s respect for democracy. Funnily enough, I enjoyed a VIP tour of the Capitol from none other than a fellow Gibraltarian who was working on the Hill, and she took us to the centre of the dome where you can stand on the spot which marks the very heart of Washington. She also let us in on a Capitol secret: one of the chief duties of a Hill intern is to give anecdotal tours of the Capitol Building to visiting constituents but, at times, remembering the barrage of information they receive at orientation can prove challenging, and so interns have over the years developed an offering of elaborate fabrications which they deal out to unsuspecting tourists as hard truths. So if, for instance, you hear that the immense chandelier which hangs outside of the Old Supreme Court Chambers was miraculously dredged up from the wreckage of the RMS Titanic in perfect nick, I am sorry to tell you that you have been duped. However, real D.C. history can be just as remarkable as myth. The Statue of Freedom which crowns the dome of the US Capitol, for example, was paradoxically cast by a slave by the name of Philip Reid, but by the time that the last section of the sculpture was hoisted into place in 1863, as a result of an act passed only months earlier by President Abraham Lincoln abolishing involuntary servitude in the District of Columbia, Reid had finally been granted his freedom. Astonishingly, the first stop for the original model of this very statue which, having been designed in Italy was to be transported directly to GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

leisure Washington for casting, was an emergency call at the port of Gibraltar. During the maiden voyage of the plaster model, the ship began to leak and was forced to pay a visit to the Rock for urgent repairs before setting sail again for the American coastline. This was the first of many unexpected reminders of Gibraltar to be found in Washington, D.C.; there is also ‘Gibraltar coffee’ available, which takes its name from the iconic ‘Gibraltar tumbler’ it is served in, as well as a Gibraltar Hotel, comically positioned next to The Tangier Lounge. I even chanced upon a Gibraltar ten shilling note on display in a wartime exhibit at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum! Washington museums, of course, hold many more surprises for the international tourist. These world-class institutions don’t just offer insights into the past, they also teach us to look to the future. At the Albert Einstein Planetarium in the Air and Space Museum, for example, you can embark on a stunning virtual journey to the stars, narrated by a veritable star in her own right, Whoopi Goldberg. During the superb full-dome screening, Whoopi invites you to “pick a star, any star… and make a wish”. And indeed, if your wish is to rocket off into the atmosphere, the

The White House, deliberately located on a lower ground than the Capitol

museum also caters for this with a host of exhilaratingly realistic flight simulators. Across Washington, museum-hopping is easy and free and reveals innumerable secrets surrounding the dark and complicated history of the American capital, from slavery, to war, to presidential perfidy. And what’s interesting about Washington is that the city, having been made-to-measure, has changed very little since its establishment, so it is possible to visit the exact spots where world history happened. That is to say that the past can be relived outside of the museums as well as in. Running late one morning for a tour of Ford’s Theatre, I hailed a cab and directed the driver to the famous site where, just five days after the effective culmination

of the American Civil War, John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor of the 1860s, shot and killed President Abraham Lincoln while he sat watching a performance with his wife as part of the still ongoing celebrations of his government’s military success. Given Booth’s celebrity status and the fact that as a regular headliner at the theatre his presence in restricted areas of the auditorium was quite unremarkable, the actor was able to enter the Presidential Box unimpeded to fire the fatal shot, before leaping onstage in a flurry of theatricality and making his dramatic exit. Seeing the popular actor onstage and blood-stained, onlookers are said to have been bewildered as to whether this was a particularly action-packed scene in the play or if this was actually real life. On my journey to this significant D.C. landmark, the taxi driver explained that he was a friend of the descendants of Dr.

A Gibraltar ten shilling note on display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum

Kayaking around Theodore Roosvelt Island GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

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The Statue of Freedom crowning the dome of the US Capitol (pictured above)

Mudd, the doctor who tended to Booth’s wounds following his hashed jump from the President’s Box, and who was later convicted for his part in assisting the murderer’s escape. This friend of the Mudds argued in favour of the doctor’s innocence as vigorously as if the fate of the long-departed Dr. Mudd was still hanging in the balance, relating to me the family’s version of events. This emotional investment in the city’s history can be felt across the Washington community; the past ever alive and shaping the city’s progress.

there!) and Ben’s family and friends will be able to teach you more about the real culture and life of Washington than any number of hours in the National Museum of American History will; for them it’s personal. After all, the key to the charm of Washington is the Washingtonians. From police officers who joke with you as you cross the street, to jovial train drivers who can brighten up any grey morning, it is the community of Washington who make visitors to the city feel at home, and make America’s capital one of my top destinations of choice.

A standout spot in Washington where visitors can engage in this ongoing conversation with history is Ben’s Chili Bowl, D.C.’s most iconic fast food diner, which has been frequented over the years by scores of famous faces including Ella Fitzgerald, Martin Luther King, Jr., Muhammad Ali and Barack Obama. But Ben’s fame can’t be entirely attributed to their hot dogs; the fast food joint, located in the U Street corridor once known as ‘Black Broadway’ is, in fact, central to the African-American heritage of Washington. In the wake of Dr. King’s assassination in 1968, Ben’s was the only business in the district which stayed opened during the race riots which convulsed the capital, feeding both the police officers on duty and their opposing black activists. Anyone who stops by for a tasty lunch can sit in Obama’s reserved seat (as long as he isn’t 72

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TRAVELLING & BLOGGING The lifestyle of choice for two Gibraltarians

orking together in the travel industry, Gibraltarians Shereen Pizzarello and Dylan Trinidad bonded over a mutual love of exploring the world. After starting their own Gibraltar based travel blog to draw people in to the idea of travelling to the Rock and its stunning surrounding areas, they commenced the planning of their own trip across Southeast Asia, an area that has become increasingly popular amongst young Gibraltarians hungry to venture outside of the Western world. Whilst most people desire to see the world and experience a change from their dayto-day, many take brief holidays to satisfy the hunger. Planning, booking, taking the plunge, and living the unpredictable lifestyle of backpacker takes courage, wits, dedication and heavy consideration. From GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

the initial idea and planning, through the process of saving money and budgeting your trip, to saying goodbye to your stable and steady job and lifestyle. ‘The Travelling Postcard’ endeavours to make this process easier by offering tips to young travellers looking to initiate their own experiences, whilst being unsure of where to start.

can’t leave work now, so what can we do? We want to explore Tarifa, Zahara, Caños de Meca, and that side of Spain.’ Shereen and Dylan will also soon be participating in a charity night hike up Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the British Isles, in an attempt to explore the option of charity driven travel.

Shereen and Dylan’s most successful posts follow their impressive saving of £12,000 to fund their four-month trip, last March – July, and how and what they packed ahead of their trip. Their blog has significantly grown in success, and now draws in a huge audience from the US. Although currently battling demanding careers, they hope to expand the blog into the realms of more localized travel, through shorter trips into Spain, Italy and Morocco. ‘We have a campervan now,’ the duo reveals. ‘With the travel gene we have in us, we thought we

They look back on their South East Asian journey fondly, sharing tales of petting tigers in Chiang Mai’s Tiger Kingdom, trekking along incredibly stunning beaches, tubing in Vang Vieng, cruising through the picturesque countryside of Hue by motorbike and exploring ornate temples. Over the past two years, the bloggers have interviewed other fascinating travellers and travel bloggers, to expand their guidance for novice travellers. They also documented their trip through Southeast 73

leisure Exploring Hoi An, Vietnam

Asia, posting blogs on some of the integral parts of the trip, including a cooking course in Hoi An, Vietnam, petting tigers in Chiang Mai, Thailand and spending three days in Malaysia following a lengthy journey from the Thai island of Koh Phi Phi. The ‘Where to Bunk’ category on their website covers some of their favourite spots to

spend the night across Gibraltar/ Spain/ Southeast Asia and the UK, touching upon the Sunborn Gibraltar, Ushuaia Ibiza Beach Hotel, and the backpacker back allies of Bangkok. Similarly, ‘Places to Eat’ covers a spectrum of eateries across Gibraltar, the Iberian Peninsular, Italy and SEA.

The most prominent tips they give first time backpackers is the importance of experiencing the place they’re visiting first hand. Oh, and starting the first leg of their travels as part of a group, with a rep. Dylan and Shereen used STA Travel, an online travel company that specializes in providing for students and young people. Some of the crucial lessons they learned on their journey were; to always have travel insurance, and to keep back up cash on a separate debit/ credit card from the one you most often use. Shereen also speaks of an incident when they bought a one-way plane ticket and were interrogated on their reasoning for not purchasing a return, in case they overstayed their visa. When it came to mapping out their trip, Shereen and Dylan were both keen to ensure that food was somewhere at the forefront of their cultural experiences of Southeast Asia. Looking back, they stuck very closely to their plan, although the time spent in different areas varied depending on how much they enjoyed the location and how much they wanted to see and do, as well as how expensive it was to live and eat there. Wat Rong Khun Temple in Thailand

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Gibraltarians & Travelling When I questioned them on what they love so much about travelling, the two insisted that seeing and experiencing other cultures gives them personal motivation to become better within themselves, and to view life differently. Being knowledgeable in the industry and significantly well travelled, I probe Dylan and Shereen on why they would advise Gibraltarians specifically to take the plunge and go travelling… ‘Gibraltar is so small and whenever someone wants to do one thing another Gibraltarian will want to do the same thing. I think people should try backpacking because it really does open your eyes to another culture. You’re living and sharing the lifestyle of the locals and you’re able to immerse yourself in that culture. I think it’s great for young Gibraltarians to be able to do it because they come back with a different mindset and different values in culture and tradition. As Gibraltar is so small, we tend to follow what our neighbours or family do and not venture out into other parts. I do think though that more and more people are travelling and backpacking now.’ This also follows a trend in the rise of ‘Gap Years’ taken by local students either before they attend University, or following their degree.

3% were taking a career break. Out of the backpackers included in the survey 49% of the females - against 52% of the males - travelled with friends or siblings, 28% of the women travelled with their partner, against 11% of the men. 23% of the women travelled alone, against 37% of the men. On the topic of travelling buddies, Shereen strongly recommends travelling with your partner, as it gives you the opportunity to learn all of their habits and face the ultimate relationship endurance test. The most rewarding facet of the blog for Shereen is receiving feedback from readers who follow their recommendations. She also loves to look back on the memories that are cemented into cyberspace forever. The duo are looking to expand and develop the site to incorporate more of the local tourism scene, as well as local restaurants and hotels who could contribute to the blog, giving young travellers an idea of what Gibraltar has

to offer. Part of the grand scheme is to partner with local businesses to help them expand their reach. The travelling bug doesn’t subside once you return from your trip. Although they’ve settled into a stable life once again, with well-liked jobs and a home being built at one of the new affordable housing sites, Shereen and Dylan talk wistfully of travelling to South America and New Zealand, one day. Travelling is possibly one of the most rewarding past times; checking off bucket list activities and watching your metaphorical life experience counter shoot up, day by day. If you’re unsure where to start on your adventure, check out thetravellingpostcard.com for a likeminded, Gibraltarian perspective and advice on how to get moving. Alternatively follow the site’s Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or Google+ pages for updates and insights.

Travelling across Halong Bay

Backpacker’s Statistics In a survey carried out by Essential Travel, 41% of those who had already carried out their backpacking trip were school leavers, 36% were university leavers, 13% were first time job seekers, 5% were young professionals, 3% were still at school and 2% were taking a career break. Amongst those planning a future trip, 36% were university leavers, 23% were first time job seekers, 19% were school leavers, 12% still at school, 7% young professionals and GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

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

leisure words & photos | Christopher Buttigieg

THE BANANA PANCAKE TRAIL Savouring Southeast Asia

he so-called Banana Pancake Trail has no clear geographical definition; instead, it refers more generally to the well-trodden travel routes in and around Southeast Asia. It is named after the eponymous pancake that can be found in almost every backpacker haunt. However, the phrase is more than just a cliché, it hints at a world unto itself for food lovers. Southeast Asia boasts some of the world’s tastiest dishes, with sizzling woks, swirling clouds of spice-infused smoke and flavours that combine for an unforgettable gastronomic experience. Last year, I travelled around Southeast Asia over the course of two months and savoured some of these unique dishes. India My first port of call was India. I travelled up the Southwest coast of the subcontinent,

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from Kochi in the south to the bazaars of Mumbai, passing through Goa, Hampi and Pune. It is worth pointing out that there is a difference between Indian food and the food of India as they are not the same. What we generally conceive as Indian food, particularly in the West, is often a reinvention of the many flavours and spices common in India. The Anglicisation of curry in the 1950s managed to popularize Indian food in London, but it also created a class of food sui generis. Although Gibraltar has no shortage of its own English-style curryhouses, for real Indian food you need to go to India. My first impression was not so much about the taste but about the spiciness. Indian food is spicy, not a sharp spice, but rather a slow-burning, hot spice. The kind of heat that doesn’t go away. This poses at once a challenge to the Western visitor whose palate is not traditionally accustomed to

the liberal use of the chilli pepper. That said, by the time I left India I had quickly grown accustomed and Indian food was far more palatable. It is hard not to, as chillies pervade almost every dish – even starting the day with a masala omelette would not be unusual. The Indian penchant for the chilli pepper is reflected in the story of an Indian gentleman who, when visiting London, would eat a fresh chilli between every bite so as ‘to give English food some taste’ (although admittedly this might say more about English food than Indian food). The cuisine of Kerala – one of India’s southerly states – would appeal to anyone brought up on a Mediterranean diet of fresh fish. We bought freshwater prawns from the banks of the Kerala backwaters from local dwellers and had them cooked onboard our houseboat by the chef (who also doubled as the captain). Freshwater prawns are less common in Europe, but the taste is distinctively nicer. 77

leisure The scorching heat of India perhaps explains the need for so many spices. The smell, poetically described in the novel Shantaram as the “the worst good smell in the world”, evinced the countless restaurants, bazaars, spices, incense and much more. The food of Mumbai in particular stuck with me for a while. I had the best Thali of my life in a nondescript restaurant somewhere in the Mumbai bazaar. Thali is a dish served in small bowls, called katori, which are placed on a round steel tray. These mini-bowls usually comprise rice, dal, vegetables, roti, papad, curd, and small amounts of chutney or pickle. The muddle of flavours somehow lends itself to a harmony of taste. Although vegetarianism is very pervasive in Indian cuisine, and beef is of course off the menu, you tend to forget this. There were occasions when, after a meal, you would be surprised to learn that it contained no meat. This is the result of the potency of the many Indian spices. The beverage of choice is of course the lassi, a blend of yogurt, water, spices and sometimes, fruit. It also serves as the perfect antidote to a spicy meal. Tea, too, is, unsurprisingly, found in abundance. There is something quintessentially Indian about enjoying a long train ride over a cup of chai lulled by the rhythm of the rails.

Amok Thailand, Laos and Cambodia These three countries, collectively part of Indochina, share a lot in common with each other in terms of food. They are at the crossroads of India and China, and this has resulted in a delightful mix of curries, noodles and rice. Thai food is adored around the world, and rightly so: it is simply amazing. The use of local ingredients - pungent lemongrass, fresh seafood and searing chillies – makes it very hard to replicate it authentically outside Thailand. As anyone who has 78

visited the country will tell you, even the best Thai restaurants in Europe and North America lack that authentic je ne sais quoi. Pad thai is the ubiquitous noodle street food, and the soups of Chiang Mai in the north are the heartiest you will ever try. My only regret is not enrolling on a cooking course in Chiang Mai. The essence of Thai cooking – centred around the four fundamental flavours: spicy, sweet, salty and sour – is very different to Western cooking philosophy. What salt is to continental cooking, fish sauce (nam pla) is to Thai food. And so on. Lao food has less to commend it. Meals were generally similar to those in Thailand, but of a lesser standard. My only interesting experience of food in Laos was trying sausages made from water buffalo meat, something I discovered only after consuming the delicacy.

Cantonese specialities, and was treated to a traditional dim sum lunch at the Sha Tin Racecourse by a local friend. In much the same way as we tuck into tapas, the Hongkongers do so with dim sum. These are small bite-sized or individual portions of food traditionally served in small steamer baskets, washed down with copious amounts of Pu-erh tea. I was also invited to a restaurant in the Kowloon district of Hong Kong that specialized in the cuisine of the Chinese city of Shantou. This restaurant would not ordinarily allow foreigners to enter unless invited by a local – a rule perhaps enforced because no one spoke English and partly because they offered shark fin soup on their menu. That restaurant was as much as cultural shock as it was a gastronomic delight. Every plate was new to me and I did away with all previous conceptions of Chinese food. Interesting deserts included deep-fried sugared taro, and grass jelly.

Deep-fried sugered taro The food of Cambodia was unassuming but nice. As compared to Thai food, Khmer cuisine usually remains under the culinary radar but still enjoys its own charm. A particular highlight is Amok: baked fish with lemongrass, chilli and coconut. Like the rest of Southeast Asia, fresh seafood abounds in Cambodia. I also tried durian for the first time in Cambodia, a fruit considered a luxury in Asia. You either love it or hate it: the pungent smell of the fruit’s skin has been described “as rotten onions, turpentine, and raw sewage” whereas the taste of its flesh is custard-like and sweet. This is evolution’s answer to Marmite.

Grassjelly ice-cream Asia has always been characterized as a land of enchantment and unfamiliarity, and this is reflected in Western stereotypes about its culture and food but there is much to discover about its cuisine. There is certainly no shortage of Indian restaurants in Gibraltar to do so and, of course, if you’re a picky eater, you could always have banana pancakes.

Hong Kong Hong Kong is to Asia what New York is to the West. This megacity is a culinary capital and you can find anything in Hong Kong: from Cantonese, Shanghainese, Vietnamese, Japanese to European. You can eat to your heart’s content. I made it a point of savouring the local

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leisure photos | Stefano Blanca Sciacaluga

NATION OF GOURMANDS Calentita Food Festival 2015

ine years on from the inaugural Calentita Festival, the event has become entrenched in the Rock’s cultural calendar. Incorporating the Gibraltarians’ staunchly food driven culture and diverse mix of heritage, the climax of the Gibraltar Spring Festival now draws in bigger crowds, more diverse dishes, more space to relax and more entertainment. The festival, a true impression of any Gibraltarian’s perfect Summer evening, will expand further into Market Place this year, following the massive success of 2014. With five to seven thousand people in attendance last year, the organisers at Word of Mouth are eager for the food festival to develop in quality as well as quantity. Last year, thirty-one stalls served a variation of worldly dishes. Currently, organisers are recruiting this year’s stalls GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

and looking to expand their numbers. Many establishments and organisations have featured each year since the gastronomy celebration’s inception. Interested parties urged to change up their options and feature new ones, whilst still maintaining the essence of foods traditionally represented in Gibraltar. This ideal is the soul of many of the returning cuisines, from the ever-favoured Moroccan, to the Italian, British, Spanish and Maltese tents. There is, however, a keenness for new, modern cultures to be represented, with the hopeful return of the Greek, German, Irish, Malaysian and Chinese stalls. The beauty of this eclectic variation is that they display the hybrid of far-reaching nationalities that have settled on the Rock and married into its effervescent community.

Fund raising for charity is heavily encouraged by the organisers, following the immense success of Vicky Bishop’s Catering stall in raising £4,500 for local charity, Saffron Rose 4 Rett last year. The funds went towards a Tobi Eye Gaze Computer to help sufferers of Rett syndrome, at St. Martin’s School. On the issue of duplicated stalls or food items, Word of Mouth explains that those heading stalls must formerly discuss the food they will be offering, if the same options happen to cross with another stall’s, they are approached and asked for their blessing. The second major aspect that drives the festival is the entertainment on offer. With a consistent blend of musical, dance, spoken word, and visual performances, there is a spectacle for almost everyone to enjoy. 79

leisure Through the expansion of Market Place, last year introduced a new second stage for entertainment including the ‘Live Kitchen’ show featuring renowned local chefs and local cooking competition ‘Rock Chef’ contestants, preparing meals and revealing their tricks of the trade. This year, the stage will feature an entirely new programme of entertainment to give life to the area. The long-table will also be a very welcomed feature once again. There are hopes to expand the gastronomy event even further, into the Waterport area, through lighting and video projections on surrounding buildings. A small element of pyrotechnics will once again signal the climax of the evening. This year, it is likely that an ‘official opening’ will see Mayor Adolfo Canepa ring a bell to formally celebrate the 9th edition of the festival, as it commences. The overall concept of the event is to ‘welcome’ each and every society in Gibraltar. Surely, there is no better way to celebrate unity than through good entertainment, good friends, and jolly good food. Calentita Food Festival will be held on Saturday 29th June 2015 in Casemates Square and Market Place. More information can be found on the event’s Facebook page facebook.com/CalentitaFestival.

leisure

FOOD REVOLUTION Teaching the Values of Nutrition

lmost one million and a half individuals spanning 196 countries recognise the global issue of child obesity, enough to sign Jamie Oliver’s global petition asking Governments ‘to promise and commit to teaching every child how to grow and cook fresh and nutritious food at school’. Statistics released by the famed British chef on his annual ‘Food Revolution Day’ on Friday 15th May revealed that a terrifying 42 million children under the age of five are overweight or obese. Grace Bethany Shiplee is Gibraltar’s only Ambassador for the ‘Food Revolution’ programme that emerged initially as a television programme following the esteemed chef across the US, as he tackled the issues of food education and nutrition. The Food Revolution bloomed and GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

spiralled into a global movement, taking on Ambassadors worldwide to spread the values of the programme and educate the masses on eating well. Bathed by the Friday evening sun and its glittering reflection on the surface of the Atlantic Suites Spa & Health Club swimming pool, Grace spoke of her desire to grow a team of ambassadors on the Rock, ‘I’m recruiting!’ She beamed, ‘we need a team. Anyone that’s interested in nutrition; chefs, even mums who might be passionate about it; anyone who can offer something to the project, Jamie would love to have as an ambassador.’ Gibraltar’s marking of Food Revolution Day emerged from nothing. ‘There is no budget and it is non-profit. It’s through places like The Lounge and Gatsby’s and Wasabi, who just believed in the project and have been kind enough to present their services.’

Three stalls representing three entirely distinct eateries on the Rock offered the foodies in attendance an opportunity to sample some of their healthier options; from rice dishes, to sushi, to home made hummus and flat bread. The event drew in an ample crowd, unsurprising with the healthy eating fad that the Internet and the media has coerced us into. ‘It gives them a chance to promote their menus. People think you can’t eat out and eat well, but that’s a complete myth.’ What’s the purpose of the event? ‘It’s all about getting people to sign the petition.’ As they mingled by the pool clutching goody bags offering free day passes to Ocean Village Gym and leaflets detailing the Weight Management Programme that Grace heads, attendees discussed their reasoning for eating healthy, from food intolerances and allergies, to weight 81

leisure vegetables. Then there is also ‘The Muscle Bakery’ who provides their high-protein, low calorie, low carb, gluten free desserts to a range of establishments around the Rock including Rock Supplements, The Ivy and soon, Eclipse Bar and Lounge. The team behind the healthy alternative bakery also deliver delicacies personally. Having been established on the rock slightly longer, Verdi Verdi offers fresh salads and falafel, whilst Bean and Gone sells differing fresh daily specials, also catering to the vegetarian and vegan demographics. loss. Her role as a consultant for Weight Management, a post Grace invented herself, involves working closely with clients: ‘What I don’t believe in, is all these generic diets on the internet that are based on fads and extremism. I take someone individually, as a person, and figure out how they can be healthy and how they can make sustainable changes. The fact is, people with health conditions or different levels of blood pressure of even weight issues, take on internet fads that are quite detrimental to their health because they don’t know what they’re doing and they’re not getting checked up on. I think it needs to be personal to everyone. I have had no two clients the same.’ Her job involved assessing clients and getting a grip of the person, and then differentiating between whether the client needs nutritional help or psychological support to help push them into making changes to their eating habits. On participation within the event Grace explained that she ‘did ask a lot more restaurants, but these were the ones passionate enough about it to get involved.’ Well perhaps there are just not enough healthy options available in Gibraltar? ‘I think generally, most restaurants that I have been in - and I will often pick the healthy option - I have been able to get a really good meal.’

The Dinnertime Demographic The next step, surely, is shifting the values of ‘clean eating’ onto the dinnertime demographic. Whilst there is generally a selection of healthy options available on the menus of Gibraltarian restaurants that cater to the dinnertime market, they are all too often overpriced, lacking in diversity and not appropriate for Vegans or any other general dairy or gluten avoiders out there. When Christmas Dinner menus surface, the vegetarian option is generally rather dismal and for this reason, events like Jamie’s Oliver’s Food Revolution Day are integral for developing an awareness of eating healthier, and nutrition in general. Of course, it helps that the new wave of healthy eaters is emerging in droves and sending a message that local restaurants will surely hear, particularly if they want to remain current. The recent appearance of freshly made sushi in Gibraltar based establishments is testimony to the industry moving towards the wants of the people and catching up to much of the rest of the world.

Clean Eating’s on the Rise! With the rise in popularity of ‘clean eating’ has come a new wave of eateries, including Wasabi and their selection of sushi and increasingly popular lunchtime jaunt ‘Nosha’s Healthy Options’, which caters to the vegans, gluten intolerants and healthy eaters alike, offering a selection of hearty, home made, Gibraltarian style dishes made with low carb alternatives and packed with 82

Grace Shiplee - Gibraltar Food Revolution Ambassador GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

leisure words | Andrew Licudi

DRINK PINK THIS SUMMER Does Pink Deserve its Superior Status?

am certain that in a random sample of wine drinkers most, given the choice, would prefer pink champagne over white. I believe the reason is threefold.

Pink’s attractive colour, which could range from a deep reddish pink to a light salmon hue. It’s perceived but debatable softer and fruitier taste and thirdly, pink champagne’s luxurious image which has been elevated beyond that already enjoyed by white champagne. The Champenoise are experts not only in making the best sparkling wine in the world (English sparkling come a close second) but also are exceptionally gifted at marketing. They have had decades of experience and have elevated champagne’s image to almost decadent levels effortlessly convincing us to pay premium prices for their wines. Not content with this, they have over the last few years heavily marked up their pink sparklers, GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

thereby suggesting an even more desirable wine than their white counterpart. So successful has their campaign been that 1 out of every 5 bottles now sold is pink champagne. So, does pink deserve its superior status and heavier price tag? Not if you consider that it’s no more complicated or more expensive to produce than white champagne as most producers simply add a dash of red wine to the assemblage. As far as I know, Champagne is the only wine producing region in the EU where blending red and white wine is allowed, a practice forbidden, for good reasons, almost everywhere else in the EU. Elsewhere, producing pink wine entails crushing red grape varieties and allowing a period of grape skin contact to extract a degree of colour and, hopefully, tannins and some flavour compounds. (Some champagnes are made in this manner such as Krug and

other top marques) . Demand for pink champagne is now running so high that most producers simply can’t get enough good quality red wine for their blend and the current estimate is that champagne needs between three and four million bottles of red wine. (Pink champagne has as little as 8% red wine). The Champenoise have little experience of making good red wine and since Pinot Noir, their most prolific red grape, is susceptible to rot, a real scramble ensues when Pinot Noir is decimated by disease, as has happened recently! (Champagne laws would forbid importing red wine from other parts of France.) Luckily for the consumer, the same pricing strategy is not applied to pink or rose table wines. Quite the opposite in fact, as pink 83

leisure wines can occasionally, but by no means always, be perceived as the poor relative of both red and white wines. Well known regions for pink wines are the warmer regions of France where demand for pinks in summer remains high and which reminds, partly at least, the French consumer of their much loved reds. Spain is no laggard in the pink stakes and a wide variety of these wines are made by most well-known producers particularly in Navarra and Rioja. One such pink, with almost mythical status, is made by Rioja’s Lopez de Herredia under their label Tondonia Gran Reserva. As far as I know, this is the only Gran Reserva pink in existence (they are matured in oak and not released for years) but is made in such small quantities that I have yet to taste this cult wine. California is also well known for pink wines and it is here that the word “blush”, to describe wines with a hint of pink, was invented. Australia and other New World regions also make plenty of pink wines. All manner of grape varieties and blends can be used to make roses from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel to Chenin Blanc and Grenache. Of course,

by EU law all have to have at least some red grape varieties to give its pink colour, that is unless you are a champagne producer in which case you just can add a dash of red! I am delighted to see that Saconne and Speed’s new wine outlet, The Cellar, has just opened in Irish Town. The reason for my jubilation is that not only are French magnificently well represented but also they are stocking Magnums, one of my favourite German producers JJ Prum. The Cellar has also a Think Pink corner with a wonderful selection of fine roses, some exceeding the £15 barrier! I tried their £8.70 example from the interestingly named French region, Cotes de Thongue, produced by Domaine Montauberon Les Olivieres 2013. I opened this in the office and we all thought this wine was very classy with ample complexity and a good finish. A refreshing change from the insipid, bulk produced examples so common in ventas up and down Spain.

Wines to try at least once in your life Lopez de Herredia Tondonia Rose Gran Reserva 2000 I haven’t tasted this but it’s definitely on my list of must try wines. Grape varieties include Tempranillo and Garnacha and, uniquely, it’s been matured in oak for nearly five years. The current vintage “on sale” is 2000. I would expect serious amount of oxidation (lemony flavours) from extensive wood ageing which may not suit everyone. Not yet available in Gibraltar but I am told it might soon be available by Tondonia’s agents here. The producer’s website states that only 25 thousand bottles were made and it shows, as everywhere online appears this wine to be out of stock! How annoying! Price unknown.

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appetite

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restaurants

Café Solo

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

Cafe Rojo Sleek modern comfort in this relaxing little restaurant. Brunch (10am-12pm) includes ciabatta, granary, foccacia sandwiches with fillings such as pear and blue cheese, smoked bacon and brie, cheese and honey roast ham, delicious desserts. Lunch 12-3pm, dinner 7-10pm; dishes such as Marinated Tuna Steak & Sesame Crust; Roasted Lamb Shoulder; pastas or risottos such as Roast Pumpkin, Mushroom, & Spinach Curry, Langoustine, Lime & Coconut; Pear, Walnut & Blue Cheese; and Creamy Mixed Seafood; and salads such as Warm Goats’ Cheese, Fresh Spinach & Chargrilled Aubergine; and Roast Duck, Chorizo & Pancetta Salad. Open: Tues - Fri 10am- late, Saturday lunch 12-3pm, afternoon drinks & desserts, dinner 7-10pm. Closed Sundays & Mondays. Cafe Rojo 54 Irish Town. Tel: 200 51738

Casa Pepe

Nunos Italian

Nunos Italian Restaurant, overlooking the Mediterranean, is popular with hotel guests, tourists and local residents. This 2 rosette rated, AA restaurant is renowned for its eclectic interior, intimate atmosphere and fine cuisine. Savour a wide selection of freshly prepared Italian delicacies, including bread, pasta, meat and fish, followed by delicious desserts. In the summer months, the hotel offers alfresco dining for private parties in the Garden Grill. Sitting nestled in the colonial garden you can enjoy a mouth-watering menu of charcoal-grilled meats and freshly prepared salads in candlelit surroundings. Open: Mon-Sun 1-3pm lunch, 7–11pm dinner Nunos Italian Restaurant and Terrace Caleta Hotel, Catalan Bay Tel: 200 76501 Email: reservations@caletahotel.gi

Café Solo Grand Casemates Square. Tel: 200 44449

Solo Bar & Grill

Solo Bar and Grill is a stylish and modern eatery — perfect for business functions or lunches — and par t of the popular Cafe Solo stable. Ser ving everything from Goats’ Cheese Salad, Mediterranean Pâté and Cajun Langoustines to Beer Battered John Dory, or Harissa Chicken, and Chargrilled Sirloin Steak. This is a delightful venue in Europort with a cosy mezzanine level and terrace seating. Well worth a visit, or two! Available for private functions and corporate events — call 200 62828 to book your function or event. Open: 12-8pm. Solo Bar & Grill Eurotowers Tel: 200 62828

Sacarello Coffee Co

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

Located in a converted coffee warehouse, and famous for its great fresh ground coffee, homemade cakes/afternoon tea, plus full menu and excellent salad bar with quiche selection, specials of the day and dishes such as lasagne, steak and mushroom Guinness pie, hot chicken salad, toasties, club sandwich and baked potatoes. Holds popular art exhibitions with the Sacarello collection and guest artists. Very busy at office lunchtimes (1-2pm). Sacarello's is available for parties and functions in the evenings. Open: 9am-7.30pm Mondays - Fridays. 9am-3pm Saturdays

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

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

88 86

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

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

CALL 200 77748 for details GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JUNE 2015

food & drink

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

CALL 200 77748 for details Get Stuffed Very popular takeaway, sandwich bar and hot food. Serving all fresh and homemade sandwiches, salads, soups, pasta, pies, cup cakes, plus hot/cold drinks and smoothies and a different special every day. Outside catering for corporate parties. Open: 8am - 4pm Mon-Fri, 8am-3pm Sat. Get Stuffed Marina Bay. Tel: 200 42006

Just Desserts Br ight and air y, recently redecorated cafe on the first floor of the ICC. All homemade food including daily specials, vegetarian options, desserts and small cakes. Eat in or takeaway. Try their daily roast with everything on, or their all-day breakfast. Pensioner’s lunch - 2 course meal for £5.25. Friendly, cheerful and fully licensed. Open: from 7.30am Monday to Friday Just Desserts 1st Floor ICC. Tel: 200 48014

Mumbai Curry House Indian cuisine, eat-in/take-away, from snacks (samosas, bhajias, pakoras) to lamb, chicken and fish dishes such as korma, tikka masala, do piaza. Large vegetarian selection. Halal food. Outside catering for parties/meetings. Sunday Mumbai favourites such as Dosa & Choley Bhature. Open: 7 days a week 11am - 3pm, 6pm -late. Mumbai Curry House Unit 1.0.02 Ground Floor, Block 1 Eurotowers Tel: 200 73711 Home delivery: 200 50022/33 GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JUNE 2015

The Lounge

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informal food Raj’s Curry House

Stylish lounge and gastro bar on the quayside at Queensway Quay with ver y reasonable prices and food from 10am until late. Popular quiz on Sundays (from 7.30pm) and a relaxed friendly atmosphere... always plenty of people / yachties to chat to. Events (matches etc) covered on large TV. Great place to chill out. Open: 10am Mon - Sat until late and from 12pm on Sun (get there early for a seat for the quiz).

Raj’s tasty Indian cuisine is now available to eat in or take away, from his new fully refurbished premises in Queensway Quay next to the Waterfront. Serving authentic dishes such as Creamy Butter Chicken, Bhuna King Prawn or Chana Masala, and so much more. There is something available to suit all tastes. Pop in or telephone for food orders or table reservations. Open: food served 7 days 11am- 3pm, 6pm-late

The Lounge Queensway Quay Marina Tel: 200 61118

Raj’s Curry House Queensway Quay. Tel: 200 46993

Oasis Eatery

Solo Express

Located in Governor’s Parade, just across from the Elliot Hotel, and offers hot/cold drinks plus a delicious homemade selection of baked items such as cakes and quiches, also sandwiches and wraps, bagels and cupcakes. Vegan/vegetarian items. Oasis is on Facebook and Twitter and you can pre-order online which is handy for a quick lunch. Special orders taken for a range of bakery goods. Fully licensed for beers and wine. Terrace seating. Open: 8am to 3pm

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

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

Solo Express Grnd Flr, ICC, Casemates & Eurotowers

Pick a Bite Morning coffee and daily lunch specials, one of largest selections of traditional home made food, to eat in or takeaway. All the old favourites — spinach pie, croquettes, quiche, spanish omelette, shepherd’s pie and more. Delicious sandwiches, baguettes, ciabatta melts and wraps, with a variety of fillings. Salads, snacks and soups. Cakes and muffins for those with a sweet tooth. Friendly, cheerful and very reasonal prices. Terrace seating. Open: Monday to Friday 8am - 3pm. Pick A Bite 10 Chatham Counterguard Tel: 200 64211

Picadilly Gardens

The Tasty Bite Tasty Bite has one of the biggest take-away menus around with home cooked meats, filled baguettes, burgers, chicken and everything else you can think of! Tr y the quiches, tortillas and jackets spuds with all kinds of fillings. This little place gets busy with those popping out from the offices for lunch so get there early. Open: Monday - Saturday. The Tasty Bite 59a Irish Town. Tel: 200 78220 Fax: 200 74321

Verdi Verdi

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

All day coffee plus all homemade and delicious vegetarian a n d ve g a n d i s h e s, f re s h baked bread and desserts. A selection of bagels (try the smoked salmon and cream cheese) and salads to eat in or take away. Try the light homemade pizzas, or the falafels and humous. Daily special soups are fabulous and filling. Ask for Idan's hot homemade chilli relish — sweet and scrummy. Open: Mon/Thurs: 7.30-6, Fri 7.30-5, Sun 10-3.

Piccadilly Gardens Rosia Road, Tel: 20075758

Verdi Verdi ICC, Casemates Tel: 200 60733

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food & drink

directory All’s Well

Gibraltar Arms

Tra d i t i o n a l p u b in fashionable Casemates area. N a m e d fo r t h e 18th century practise of locking gates to the city at night when the guard called ‘All’s Well’. All’s Well serves Bass beers, wine and spirits plus pub fare. English breakfast all day, hot meals such as pork in mushroom sauce, sausage & mash, cod & chips and steak & ale pie plus a range of salads and jacket potatoes. Large terrace. Karaoke Mondays and Wednesdays until late. Free tapas on a Friday 7pm.

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

All’s Well Casemates Square. Tel: 200 72987

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

Bridge Bar & Grill Located on the water ’s edge, Ocean Village, just across the bridge from O ’ R e i l l y ’s . This bar & grill is a fusion of an American themed menu with Tarifa chill out style. Open for breakfast from 9am serving healthy options, freshly squeezed orange juice and Italian Lavazza coffee. Try the spicy Caribbean rum ribs, southern fried chicken bucket, the popular Texas burger or a selection of tasty salads and homemade desserts. London Pride, San Miguel & Carling beer on draught, live sports. Bridge Bar & Grill Ocean Village Tel: 200 66446

Cannon Bar

bars & pubs O’Reilly’s Tra d i t i o n a l Irish bar with full HD sports coverage and Irish breakfast from 7am (Sunday from 9am). Guinness on draught. Food includes salads, jackets, beef & Guinness pie, Molly’s mussels, drunken swine, Boxty dishes (potato pancake wrapped around delicioius fillings), sandwiches, rolls, Kildare chicken and much much more. And just like in Ireland there’s no smoking inside, so a great atmosphere for all. O’Reilly’s Ocean Village. Tel: 200 67888

Jury’s Café-Wine Bar

Star Bar

Next to the Law Courts, with a terrace seating area, Jury’s has a selection of Ciabattas, paninis, baguettes and wraps, plus popular sharing dishes, such as Your Honour ’s platter. Jacket potatoes, main courses, pasta and some innocent salads too. For those with a sweet tooth, there are tantalising homemade desserts, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, as well as Lavazza coffees and frappes. Open: 7am-midnight Mon-Sat, 9am-midnight Sun.

Gibraltar’s oldest b a r, j u s t off Main St. Small cosy and famous for its full English breakfast from 7am (9am on Sunday). A full menu including fish & chips, until 10pm. The home of Star Coffee, draught beers include Heineken, Old Speckled Hen, Murphys and Strongbow cider. Managed by Hunter Twins from Stafford, England, also home to Med Golf & Tottenham Hotspur supporters club.

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

Lord Nelson

Jane is still there and still packed out with tourists and regulars! Word has it that she nearly managed to escape, but wasn’t a l l owe d to. Th e famous fish and chips, the odd Fre n c h s p e c i a lity, there’s always something happening in the Cannon! Located between Marks & Spencer and the Cathedral just off Main Street.

Bar/brasserie in Casemates. Done out like N e l s o n’s s h i p . Starters & snacks include f re s h m u s s e l s, blue cheese and rocket bruschetta, potato skins, spicy chicken wings and calamares. Main courses from chilli con carne and chicken & mushroom pie, to crispy duck burrito and fish & chips. Jackets, burgers and kid’s menu. Live music on stage nightly. Spacious terrace. Open: 10am till very late.

Cannon Bar 27 Cannon Lane. Tel: 200 77288

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

88 90

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

The Three Owls The Three Owls is a traditional bar serving best of English beers. Three separate bars/ floors: ground floor — big screen T V, pool table, poker machines, bar — open from 10.30am daily. First floor ‘Hoots’ bar, two match pool tables, poker machines, dartboard, bar, open from 5pm daily. Second Floor the ‘Nest’ — American pool table, poker machine, card table, bar — open from 7pm daily and also at weekends for the Rugby Union matches. If you are looking for a sociable game of pool or darts this is the place to be. The Three Owls Irish Town. Tel: 200 77446 GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JUNE 2015

Traditional Pub Serving Traditional Pub Fare, Bass Beers, Wines & Spirits

VISIT US AND STEP BACK IN HISTORY

Casemates Square Tel: 200 72987

Full menu served inside or on our terrace including British Fish & Chips, Jackets, Salads, Burritos, Homemade Pizzas, our special Fresh Local Mussels and much more. Visit us and buy yourself a souvenir, T-shirts, beer glasses, lighters etc Live music every evening, join our Jam Sessions on Wednesday or Sunday. GLMS Music Venue of the Year. Official Home to Gibraltar Rugby Club Free WiFi

10 Casemates www.lordnelson.gi Tel: 200 50009

Grand Casemates Sq Tel: 20044449 take-away or reserve a table

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

Queensway Quay (next to Waterfront) Queensway Quay Marina, Tel: 200 61118

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

restaurant bar guide &

TASTY INDIAN CUISINE

Get Stuffed! Marina Bay Tel: 200 42006 Take-Away, Sandwiches & Hot Food Different Special Every Day salads, soups, pastas, pies, cupcakes, all home made Open 8am-4pm Mon-Fri, 8am-3pm Sat

Indian Cuisine to Eat In or Take Away

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

Casa Pepe Open: Mon-Sat 11am-late 18 Queensway Quay Marina Tel/Fax: 200 46967

Award winning breakfasts from 7.30am Great meals & snacks all day Evening Steak House menu Med Golf Clubhouse Tottenham Hotspur HQ Parliament Lane Tel: 200 75924 GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE â&#x20AC;˘ JUNE 2015 GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

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health & medical directory CHEMISTS Bell Pharmacy, 27 Bell Lane Tel: 200 77289 Fax: 200 42989 Louis’ Pharmacy Unit F12, International Commercial Centre, Casemates. Tel: 200 44797 CHIROPRACTORS Dr Steven J. Crump BSc, DC, MCC ICC F5C 1st Flr, Casemates. Tel: 200 44226 Dr Gillian Schirmer MA, DC, MMCA McTimoney Chiropractor, Clinic (Claudia’s), 1st Flr, 58 Main St Tel: 200 41733 After hours: 200 40026 Dr Carsten Rudolf Steiner BSc, DC Steiner Chiropractic Clinics, College Clinic, Regal House Tel: 200 77777

HYPNOTHERAPY Rose Favell Central Clinic, Horse Barrack Lane. Tel: + 34 655 699 841 www.hypnotherapygibraltar.com HEALTH CLUBS Atlantic Suites Health Club & Spa Tel: 200 48147 Ocean Village Health Club Tel: 200 44242 HEALTH STORES Holland & Barrett 160 Main Street HEARING CENTRE Oigamas Hearing Centre Unit S3h 2nd Floor, ICC Casemates Square Tel: 200 63644 Email: info@oigamas.com OPTICIANS / OPTOMETRISTS Gache & Co Limited 266 Main Street. Tel: 200 75757

Bell Pharmacy Your Family Chemists

L. M. Passano Optometrist 38 Main Street. Tel: 200 76544 PERSONAL TRAINERS Simon Coldwell Complete Fitness Unit G3, Eliott Hotel Tel: 200 51113 Isabella Jimenez BSc (hons) Unit 5, 1st Floor, ICC Tel: 54002226 email: jimenez.isabella@gmail.com Zaneta Kwiecien Sport Rehabilitator GSR, BSc (Hons), OMT Medical Acupuncturist Tel: + 350 62967134 Email: zaneta@sportongib.com SPECIALISTS Specialist Medical Clinic 1st Floor ICC, Casemates. Tel: 200 49999 Dr Vricella, Cosmetic Surgeon College Clinic, Regal House Tel: + 34 951 276 748

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

Here to help you by answering all your pharmaceutical questions

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

Consult us at 27 Bell Lane Tel: 200 77289 Fax: 200 42989

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

Tel: 200 44226

PASSANO OPTICIANS LTD British Registered Optometrists

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

Beauty Therapy

Need somebody to talk to?

7 days a week 5pm-9pm

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

Back to better health with Chiropractic for headaches, dizziness, neck and lower back pain, sciatica, osteoathritis and sports injuries. College Clinic, Regal Hse. Tel: 200 77777

Primary Care Centre 2nd Floor International Commercial Centre Casemates

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

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

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

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JUNE 2015

events

Gibraltar Magazine

fashion

shopping

Retail& Activities

travel & hotels

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

Tel: (+350) 20074000 Fax: 20040030

leisure

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

GACHE & CO LTD EST. 1830

hair & beauty

• Giftware • Jewellery • Sports Trophies • Awards & Engravers

266 Main St, Gibraltar Tel: 200 75757

lessons & tuition

Health & Beauty Salon • Aromatherapy • Sugar Waxing • Facials

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

Don House Arcade Tel: 20077311

FROST LANGUAGE CENTRE (registered in Gibraltar)

Tel: 200 73786

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

newsagents/books

CRAFT CLASSES - PHONE FOR INFO

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JUNE 2015

pets

weather

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

business