The Gibraltar Magazine - May 2015 by Rock Publishing Ltd

20 # 07 May 2015

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

the gibraltar magazine

May 2015 Vol. 20 # 07 FREE

Gibraltar National Dance Team Dancing to the Top The Role of Finance in the General Election Gibraltar International Bank Winning Over the Community Introducing the Mrs. Gibraltar Pageant How About Those Spring Bank Holidays..? Ghost Hunting at the Moorish Castle Prison

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or nearly twenty years Gibraltar Magazine has informed and entertained the Rock’s residents and visitors. First published in October 1995 it was, for many years, under the dedicated and skillful guidance of Andrea Morton (now Andrea Morton Forde) as owner, editor and significant contributor. At the end of last year Andrea decided that it was time to pursue other ventures and looked for someone to take over the magazine. She had two requirements; that it kept its focus on Gibraltar and its passion on what the Rock has to offer. Those requirements, and that duty, have now passed to us at Rock Publishing and it is a responsibility we take just as seriously as Andrea did. We are a small, young team of professionals, committed to retaining the spirit of this publication while developing its capacity in entertaining, educating and informing on all that’s happening in Gibraltar. Over the coming months you will see changes to the way the magazine is presented, in its content and in its style. It will be available in more locations and for more people. Yet in doing so, it will continue to focus upon what it was established to be; the premier lifestyle magazine for Gibraltar. And we can do more; the magazine’s birth in 1995 was at a time before broadband, Wi-Fi, smartphones and many other developments, without which we cannot imagine our modern lives. We are already looking at ways of further embracing those changes and you will see these in the coming months through developments of our website as well as greater involvement in the social media. The opportunities are boundless.

In this issue... ...you will find all the regular columns from our contributors; Ian Le Breton will urge you to vote, or not to vote; Elena brings her usual art and music reviews; we’ve got an anecdote from the 60s navy communication by Reg and interviews by Richard and Mike Brufal. Mike Nicholls is taking a different approach to delivering news on the property market and he has also written a review of Gibraltar’s football match against Scotland! Meanwhile, Nicole Macedo, our new Head Journalist, has covered news from around the Rock. We have redesigned crossword pages and given you a sneak peak into next month’s issue so there is something to look forward to already. In doing this, we remain dedicated to our readership and so we are reaching out to you, the readers, to let us know what you look forward to reading about most or if there is anything that isn’t covered but should be. So, since my job is to keep you all engaged and entertained, here it is, the May issue, designed for your reading pleasure, enjoy! Anna, your new Editor

We will also seek to encourage a new generation of writers and other contributors, and of platforming new talent. Gibraltar has so much to offer and we will make sure we play our role in getting that message out to the full. Rock Publishing Team

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

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contents News 8 Mama Lotties Shortlisted for Prestigious Cookbook Award 9 Casemates Flashmob Goes Viral 10 Placing Gibraltar on the International Music Map 12 Us Military Aircraft Visits Gibraltar 13 New easyJet Bristol Route Opens Doors for Students 14 Naval Squadron Trains with HMS Richmond 15 New Fire & Rescue Service’s Chief Fire Officer 16 What’s on at Rotary Club 17 Exploring Islamic Calligraphy 18 Marvels of the Gibraltar Museum Team 20 Re-Introducing Wildlife to the Upper Rock Lifestyle 22 Transition into Employment - Neil Costa 24 Managing Communication in the Workplace 26 Women! Educate yourselves on pensions! 30 How to go green 32 Popularity - Does it Really Not Matter? 34 Ghost Hunting in Moorish Castle Prison - A Sceptic’s Experience 36 Mrs. Gibraltar Pageant: Missus, I Feel Like a Woman! 37 YaniTEAndo for Charity - LOL Productions Business, Property and Finance 38 Prone to Psephology 40 Gibraltar International Bank - Meeting the Needs of the Community 42 The Role of Emotions in Residential Property Investing 43 Dragon’s Den - Estate Agent’s Tales Past Revisited 44 How About those May Bank Holidays..? 46 Finding Love in Jamaica - A Story of Evacuation 50 Lionel Perez - The Gibraltarian Who Joined Hands Around the Rock 54 Government Honours World War Two Evacuation Anniversary 55 Never Put Off Your Trousers in Gibraltar 56 Charles Causley: Cornish Poet First Published in Gibraltar 58 Not a Loner - The Story Behind Alfred Parody Arts & Entertainment 60 James Foot: It is all in the Detail 61 Dancing to the Top - Choosing Gibraltar’s National Team 64 Cynthia: Matters of the Art, Cynthia, Queen of hearts, Cynthia, Wild at Heart 68 Celebrating 50 Years with Gibraltar’s Most Familiar Faces 70 Dante in Gibraltar: A Talk and an Exhibition 72 Colour Me Enterprising: Max the Macaque 73 Fish-eye Illustrations: One book, Two Nations A Look Back at the Month 74 Around Town 76 Charity Easter Cakes at King’s Chapel 77 A New Hot Spot Bringing the Banus Nightlife to Sunborn 78 Wedding Fair - Showcasing the Best of Gibraltar 80 Gibraltar Scores in Glasgow at the UEFA European Qualifiers Leisure time 81 Crossword 82 Spring Festival 2015 Programme 84 Why We May be Drinking Wines too Soon 86 Directories and Guides 94 Map 97 Sneak peak into next month GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • APRIL 2015

20 # 07 May 2015

Cover: Ileana Martinez, World Showdance Champion Solo Female, Riesa 2006

The Gibraltar Magazine is published monthly by Rock Publishing Ltd Tel: (+350) 200 77748 info@thegibraltarmagazine.com 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 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

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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

Mama Lotties Shortlisted for Prestigious Cookbook Award

Author Justin and his Grandmother, who inspired the book

A big congratulations is extended to Justin Bautista’s ’76 Mama Lottie’s Gibraltarian Inspired Recipes’ for reaching a shortlist of nominees in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards Self Published category. The awards honour the best cookbooks around the Globe, awarding the best of the 205 nominees on 9th June. Established by Edouard Cointreau in 1995 the awards are often considered

‘the Oscars of gastronomical literature.’ The book has sold over 1,400 copies since its launch in October 2014. Having been translated into Spanish, copies have been bought all over the World. Justin is adamant that through his book he aims to convey the different influences mixed in to Gibraltarian dishes. He expressed his pride in the mix of cultures represented in his dishes.

The book is a collection of Justin’s favourite Gibraltarian inspired dishes. The Mama Lotties website is regularly updated with new dishes and reader submitted suggestions.

Gibraltar’s flagship dish Calentita

Gibraltarians favourite - Gambas pil pil

Potaje - hearty winter stew

The book is currently on sale in bookstores around Gibraltar and on Amazon. Mama Lotties can be found online at www.mamalotties.com

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Promoting the Gibraltar hosted 2015 IDO European Show Dance Championship in October, the Gibraltar National Dance Organisation, in conjunction with Santos Productions, organised and filmed a wholly successful flashmob in Casemates Square on Saturday 18th April. Over 250 dancers participated, representing a host of local dance schools. The group was made up of individuals from CCC Sequence Dance, DSA Sequence Dance, Gibraltar Academy of Dance, Mediterranean Dance School, Show Dance Company, Stylos Dance Studios, Urban Dance and Transitions Dance Academy. The flashmob was carried out under the artistic direction of Christian Santos, in an effort to encourage as many dancers and spectators as possible to come to Gibraltar in October to support the European Championships. After being shared on social media via YGTV, the video went viral by Gibraltar’s standards, drawing in over 41,000 views within 4 days.

Casemates Flashmob Goes Viral!

Dance Nationals held on 7th – 9th May will Chief Minister Fabian Picardo showed his allow local dancers to audition to qualify for the support for the effort. competition. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Placing Gibraltar on the

nternational Music Map

Returning to the Rock for the eighth year since its revival, the Gibraltar International Song Festival 2015 has drawn in a stellar seven hundred entries spanning the entire Globe. With a mantra of exposing talented and relatively unknown song writers and placing Gibraltar on the international music map, the contest will see fourteen finalists battle for four prizes that could certainly help them kick start their careers. The Song Festival Board is comprised of old friends and music enthusiasts and is headed by New York based Gibraltarian Joe Carseni who formerly won the competition three times under its original premise. Having grown exponentially since its revival in 2007, the competition last year garnered an immense International coverage, having been broadcast live on the Internet by German radio station Radio 700 to an audience of 10,000,000. Speaking at the launch of the festival, the organisers outlined the selection process claiming that in the initial stage, many entries get disregarded as not being of a high enough standard. After this, a panel is invited to judge a shortlist of entries and each song is listened to and scanned thoroughly before being subjected to a scoring process. There is no set number of finalists chosen, it’s just however many the Board believes are worthy of facing the judges.

Old friends and music enthusiasts make up the Song Festival’s Board

An Evening with ABBA Particularly chuffed by this year ’s international exposure, Joe told the media that entries had flown in from such far reaching corners of the World as Indonesia, Greece, Pakistan, Sweden, Mexico, Venezuela and Vietnam. Perhaps the most exciting news to come out of the launch was a confirmed performance by wholly renown ABBA Tribute

band Björn Again. The act is a parody band that initially started off as a small entity in Melbourne Australia. Once their success spanned the outer corners of the world others picked up the name and took the show to other countries. With their consistently light-hearted attitude the group catapulted into the UK charts after producing an EP in the 90s covering a band in ABBA’s distinct style. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Cheque for £1000 is presented to Alzheimer’s and Dementia Support Group Chairwoman Daphne Alcantara

It’s particularly fitting for ABBA to be represented, having made their name by conquering the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, which shares a very similar concept with the Gibraltar International Song Festival. The Song Festival almost dates back as far as the inconceivably popular Eurovision contest, having been initiated in 1965 by former Bishop of Gibraltar, Reverend Monsignor Caruana as the ‘main thrust’ in bringing together a Gibraltar Community Centre. With a few annual shows under his belt the workload began to prove difficult for Father Caruana, with heavy parochial duties to tend to. The concept was lost and forgotten for many years following.

At the launch of the 2015 Festival, held aboard the glittering Sunborn Gibraltar Yacht Hotel, the panel insisted that the quality of many of this year’s seven hundred entries was incredible. When questioned on what we can expect from the evening, Mr. Carseni promised a spectrum of up-tempo, modern music in varying genres. Some international finalists will sing in English, whilst few will stick to their native language. A Prize of £500 will be awarded to the performer whose piece is best interpreted into English. Further prizes include a first place award of £4000, a second prize of £2000 and a third prize of £1000. The four contest judges hail from Chile, the Canary Islands, the UK and Gibraltar.

Charity Focus With the support and sponsorship of the Ministry for Culture, GBC, and a host of local businesses, the festival is able to reach the level of professionalism synonymous with such internationally renown events. Any funds left over from ticket sales are donated to a local charity. Last year ’s earnings of £1000 was presented to the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Support Group, who provide for family members of those suffering with the dilapidating disease. Any money made from the sale of programmes during the evening is donated to the Prostate Cancer Support Group. Tickets for the festival, to be held at the Tercentenary Sports Hall on May 9th, are now on sale at the Gibraltar Tourist Office at £10.

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US Military Aircraft Visits the Rock A US Air force C-40 aircraft stopped off in Gibraltar late last month on a training flight to test out the runway’s unique conditions As part of the 76th Airlift Squadron, it is also part of the 86th Airlift Wing US Air Force based in Germany. The flight to Gibraltar was a first for the C-40, which is also used by the Naval Forces. The US Navy Reserves purchased six of the aircraft in 2001 and 2002. They exceed all international noise and environmental requirements. The aircraft is a military version of the commercial Boeing 737-700C.

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New easyJet Bristol Route Opens Doors for Students easyJet’s inaugural flight between Gibraltar and Bristol set off on Sunday 19th April, bringing an almost entirely full cabin of passengers to Gibraltar, and then back to Bristol. With the new route currently selling at cheaper rates than the airline’s Gatwick route, it proves ideal for many Gibraltar University students travelling back and forth from the South Western area of the country. easyJet Commercial Manager Ali Gayward claims that other routes between Gibraltar and easyJet are being pursued, but insisted that the process for launching a new flight route is extensive, with much consideration, dialogue, and research needing to be carried out. Bristol was one area that had been lobbying for the introduction of flights to Gibraltar for some time. easyJet currently has 53 GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • APRIL 20152015

routes coming and going from Bristol, The Tourist Board is now looking with twelve aircraft stationed there. towards the north of the UK to bring new routes to Gibraltar. Nicky Guerrero The airline was in dialogue with the explained that this was the only part of Gibraltar Tourist Board, mainly CEO the UK that was not yet covered, with Nicky Guerrero, for three or four years the most northern route from Gibraltar before taking the decision to launch stopping in Manchester. the route. All aspects of the route were The Bristol Gibraltar route currentevaluated for at least a year beforehand. ly runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Having been on the inaugural flight Sundays, with no plans to increase the on the 19th, Nicky Guerrero spoke of number of flights, as of yet. The route the many students on the flight return- also opens a new avenue to those traving to University in the West of the UK. elling to the UK from the Campo de Universities including Bristol, Cardiff, Gibraltar area. Gibraltar International University of the West of England and Airport Director Terence Lopez said that Swansea are populated by many Gibral- the statistics carried out by immigration tarian students and for the first time, they showed that there was almost a 50/50 do not have to travel to Malaga, or across balance between passengers that travel the UK from London or Birmingham, to to Gibraltar and stay on the Rock, and those that move on to Spain. return to University.

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Gibraltar’s Naval Squadron Trains with HMS Richmond

The Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron last month carried out a boarding exercise aboard the Navy’s Type 23 Anti-Submarine warfare vessel as it entered Gibraltar Waters. HMS Richmond docked in at Gibraltar briefly, ahead of a 9-month deployment working on Operation Kipion in the Gulf and Indian Ocean, working to combat piracy, terrorism and the drugs trade. The exercise involved the team from HMS Richmond boarding Gibraltar squadron’s launch, HMS Sabre, whilst the vessel’s lynx helicopter flew overhead. The Exercise was overseen by members of the Flag Officer Sea Training organisation who are responsible for conducting collective training and assurance of Royal Navy ships. This was in addition to the extensive training that HMS Richmond had already received in the UK prior to deployment. The Commanding Officer of the Gibraltar Squadron, Lieutenant Commander Rob Garner praised the ‘fantastic opportunity’ ahead of the Vessel’s deployment. HMS Richmond is the first vessel of its kind to adopt Scan Eagle technology, which is a drone unit very recently launched by the Royal Navy to assist their flight unit.

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Yusifredo Appointed Fire & Rescue Service’s Chief Fire Officer

Following the retirement of Mr. Guillermo Mauro recently, the Gibraltar Fire & Rescue Service welcomed a new Chief Fire Officer. Anthony Yusifredo joined the service almost exactly 25 years ago as a Firefighter. After a THE BRITISH FIRE SERVICE THE FIRE BRIGADE LONG SERVICE & promotion to Leading Firefighter he ASSOCIATION MEDAL GOOD CONDUCT MEDAL completed the Watch Commanders Awarded by the British Fire Service Associa- Course and was further promoted to Awarded to all ranks of the local authority tion for Long Service. Silver medal is awarded Sub Officer and then Station Officer in fire brigades, full time or part time, for 20 for 20 years service and a bar is added to the January 2011. years exemplary service. ribbon for each additional 5 years service.

From there he excelled in his career, being named the Gibraltar Divisional Officer in 2013, under which role he managed the entire Operations and Training Department of the Fire Service. Mr. Yusifredo obtained his qualifications in Fire Safety Engineering in the form of a BTEC Higher National Certificate, at the University of Central Lancashire. He also holds a Level 5 Diploma in Management and Leadership of the Chartered Management Institute. Anthony also achieved the positions of Rope Rescue Supervisor and Medical First Responder during his training.

In recognition of his lengthy and fruitful career with the Gibraltar Service THE QUEEN’S GOLDEN JUBILEE MEDAL he has been awarded the British Fire To celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Service Association Medal, the Fire Brigade Long Service and Good Conduct Elizabeth II, almost 400, 000 were issued. Awarded to all personnel of the Armed Forc- Medal, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee es who were in service on 6th February 2002 Medal and the Queen’s Diamond Juand had completed 5 years service. bilee Medal. It was also issued to members of the Police, Prison Service, Ambulance, Coastguard, Fire Services, RNLI, Mountain Rescue and members of the Royal Household.

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

THE QUEEN’S DIAMOND JUBILEE MEDAL To celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, it was awarded to all personnel of the Armed Forces who were in service on 6th February 2012 and had completed 5 years service.

It was also issued to Emergency Services Personnel and members of the Royal Household. What do these medals actually look like and Living recipients of both the Victoria Cross how to get one? All four featured here so you and the George Cross were also awarded can check who qualifies! the medal.

Rotary Gibraltar Celebrate 50 Years with Bond The Gibraltar Rotary Club is celebrating their Golden Anniversary this month with sheer elegance. Adopting a James Bond theme, to also mark 50 years of the franchise, the Club is hosting a spectacular concert at the St. Michael’s Cave on 14th May. The evening will span the entire lifetime of Bond, from some of the earlier films, right up to Skyfall and Daniel Craig. Gibraltar’s own debonair Henry Sacramento will portray Bond through the ages.

Shirley is most well known for recording the theme songs to some of the most prominent Bond films, including Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever and Moonraker. The spectacular will also feature the Gibraltar National Choir featuring Millie, Philip Valverde’s Jukebox Band and Danza Dance Academy.

The celebration will continue the following evening with an explosive charity event aboard the Sunborn Hotel with the James Bond theme still maintained throughout. Martinis and a five-course dinner will be served in the Aurora nings contact either m@sunborngibralEntertainment will be provided by Ballroom. tar.com or janehart46@hotmail.com. Dame Shirley Bassey tribute act, Carolyn Alternatively tickets can be purchased The Gibraltar Rotary is asking that from the Sunborn Hotel and Music Crowe, who has been deemed ‘tribute Royalty’ by the National Press. Dame anyone interested in either of the eve- Corner for £25.

Hard Work Recognised by Rotary Club Awards The Gibraltar Rotary Club last month hosted their annual awards ceremony-honouring individuals within the community who are worthy of special attention. The award categories included ‘Young person’, which was won by Francesca Makey for having shown dedication to a cause and working selflessly in the community.

The ‘Joe Gaggero Elder’ award was presented to Mr. John Murphy for offering help and support to others within the The ‘Civil or Public Servant’ honour community, through voluntary work. was presented to Daniel Guerrero of the Ministry for Culture, Sports, Heritage Each recipient was awarded a plaque and Youth, for going ‘above and beyond and a cheque for £100 in recognition of what is required of [him]’. The award their contribution to the community. honours employees who show extraordi- The evening was supported by Fellow nary dedication to their tasks, especially Rotarians and Award winners’ family in assisting the general public. and friends.

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Decorative and Fine Arts Society Explores Islamic Calligraphy The Gibraltar Decorative and Fine Arts Society will present their final lecture of the season covering Calligeofiguresques: An Introduction to Islamic Art and Design through its three most widely appreciated strands: calligraphy, geometry and arabesque. The talk explores the figural sideshow and shows how widespread figural art really is in the world of Islam, even most surprisingly, in some religious settings. So if you have ever been to the Alhambra in Granada or to Morocco, or anywhere that has the beautiful Islamic calligraphy and want to know more about it, now is your chance. The lecture is given by James Allen who read Arabic at Oxford and is a curator of the Islamic Collection, and keeper of Eastern Art at the Ashmolean Museum. The lecture is set for 20th May 2015 at the O’Callaghan Eliott Hotel at 7.30 pm. Guests are welcome. Tickets will cost £10.00 at the door. There is an early bird discount available for members who wish to renew or join for our 2015/2016 Season.

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • APRIL 20152015

13 17

Marvels of the Gibraltar Museum Team Interview with Professor Clive Finlayson

Emergency excavation of a 16th - 17th century well and cistern at Casemates in 2014 CAN YOU DESCRIBE TO US A TYPICAL DAY IN THE MUSEUM? Most people don’t realise the extent of the work that we carry out – it is very diverse and covers many different aspects. Very often I start the week with a plan and it soon gets overturned. This could be for a variety of reasons: perhaps we get a call from the police that human remains have been found in a development site and we need to investigate or we get a report from a member of the public that needs immediate attention. Gibraltar is a living museum and what is contained in our building is just a sample of the whole. It can be a daunting prospect but it’s absolutely wonderful! But returning to the question, for me a typical day starts around nine in the morning and ends about nine in the evening. That usually includes Saturdays and Sundays – it is difficult to stop when you are driven by a passion! I try to deal with routine administrative matters, including meetings, in the mornings so that I can dedicate the afternoons and evenings to research, writing and the collections. DO YOU HAVE A TEAM WORKING WITH YOU? I am pleased that government recently acknowledged the volume of work here and facilitated the growth of the team. When I started I was on my own with a part-time secretary! I was on permanent duty – there can be a callout for an alarm that sounds at any time – and luckily now we have a duty roster! Anyway, my wife Geraldine was always there in support even though she was not working for the museum at the time. She is the most experienced member of my team

now, heading administration and education but really taking on a wide variety of tasks. She has been instrumental in the preparation of the World Heritage Bid and we have been lucky to have her services and knowledge. The bid has been a team effort. Marcello Sanguinetti was appointed project manager and he has been an excellent addition to the team, using his experience in management and tourism to the full. Sue Davies, a highly experienced

and well-known archaeologist and Cultural Heritage Manager, joined the team late last year and has been another vital component. Of course the bid has been submitted but the work has only begun. The site now requires management and monitoring. The collections are an important component of any museum. I retain overall responsibility as Curator and Geraldine has the necessary skills and knowledge to support me in this role. Marie GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Dedicated international and multi-disciplinary team excavating at Gorham’s Cave Mosquera, one of our longest-serving members, is Collections Manager and she diligently maintains the collection under my supervision. Fran Giles – a Palaeolithic archaeologist is specifically responsible to me, in my role of Chief Scientist, for the archaeological aspects of the Gorham’s Cave project from excavation to curation. One area that took up a lot of our time was the heritage-support role to government, checking building applications and works in development sites. We are happy that there is a person appointed exclusively for this. Kevin Lane is now the government’s archaeologist and he, appropriately, has an office in the museum. We liaise closely and Kevin is doing a great job which, as I know only too well, can be very demanding.

future and that young Gibraltarians are coming through the ranks. We recently took on Tyson Lee Holmes as administrator and assistant education officer but we expect him to be actively involved in research – he has been doing a great deal already with the caves and the bats project. Stewart Finlayson has come through the ranks, from his starting point as volunteer labourer! He looks after the Natural History aspects of the museum, in addition to heading the operational side, and is reading for a PhD in which he is researching the relationship between Neanderthals and birds, a novel and ground-breaking aspect that is hitting the news worldwide. AND THE FUTURE?

I have to say that our work is made that much easier by having a small but excellent administrative and operational team. They provide the platform for all our projects. For the future we are excited that we have young people within our team but we want to develop the educational side of the museum further for young Gibraltarians. Geraldine has a support team for this task including Phil Smith, a very experienced guide who, as our senior guide, is dedicating time to the development of new experiences across the whole of the Grand Museum which is Gibraltar. It is that Grand Museum that we must all cherish and we are hopeful that the World Heritage Bid will give due recognition to the cathedral of history that is Gibraltar.

HOW IMPORTANT IS RESEARCH TO THE MUSEUM? Research is the cornerstone for everything else. Imagine if we hadn’t started the research project at Gorham’s Cave. Where would we be today? We wouldn’t have a World Heritage Bid and our collections would be a lot smaller. The Gibraltar Museum would not have the high international profile as Centre of Dr. Geraldine Finlayson, Prof. Clive Finlayson, Jade Finlayson, Francisco Ruiz, Alicia Montado, Alexander Excellence which it enjoys. I am happy Mirza, Tyson Lee Holmes, Paulette Anes, Sue Davies, Stewart Finlayson, Marie Mosquera, Almudena that the research element has a strong Mauro, Annabelle Revagliatte, Phil Smith, Lindsay Hall, Rebecca Golt, Fran Giles & Marcello Sanguinetti GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

RE-INTRODUCING WILDLIFE TO THE UPPER ROCK 59

wild rabbits and over 200 Barbary Partridges settled into their new homes on the Rock this month, as part of a grand initiative between the Department of the Environment, the Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society and the Gibraltar Nature Reserve Management Team to reintroduce wildlife to the Upper Rock. Partridge and rabbit populations dropped to worrying single figures recently with loss of habitats due to overgrown vegetation and feral cats. The scheme is in the interest of ‘enhancing biodiversity,’ says Environment Minister and former GONHS member Dr. John Cortes. It also involves the gradual clearing of overgrown vegetation This is a project that he is particularly excited about. He beams as beautifully shot footage by Wright Tech Media, displaying the release of rabbits and partridges, is shown to the press at the official announcement of the scheme. Rabbits were supplied by a breeder in Spain that also provides the Junta de Andalucia. On arrival to Gibraltar the Veterinary Clinic vaccinated them against common diseases. They were then released in the areas of Bruce’s Farm, Windmill Hill and the various fire breaks scattered across the Rock. The initiative will help cement a healthy bloodline for future rabbits on the Rock. Dr. Cortes commented that in the past domestic rabbits had been left up the Rock to fend for themselves, disrupting the bloodline of the wild rabbits.

Return of the National Bird As the national bird for Gibraltar, the Barbary Partridge’s history on the Rock is a little uncertain. No one really knows who introduced it initially, but they do know that the bird is native to Gibraltar. There is much speculation over whether it was the Moors that introduced the partridge to Gibraltar, or the English in the 1700s when they imported game to the Rock. Partridges are only found in two other regions of Europe; the Canary Islands and Sardinia, but they can be found in abundance in North Africa. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

GONHS is holding sixteen of the new birds in captivity in an effort to monitor and encourage breeding. The birds that have been released were wing tagged, and colour ringed depending on the area they were released in. Based on where former birds had their habitats, Partridges have been released by the Eastside Catchments, Windmill Hill, Governor’s Cottage and Bruce’s Farm. GONHS representatives Vincent Robba and Charlie Perez had been urging the Government to take on such an initiative since only two pairs of birds were found in the Windmill Hill area over the past few years. The population declined massively since the early 90s when GONHS monitored around sixty pairs of partridges. The initiative will be ongoing, with plans to integrate other species in future. Dr. Cortes insisted that these were the first species to be agreed on, as they were already present on the Rock. The work will hopefully restore the Upper Rock’s flora and fauna to the flourishing state it was once in.

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Vincent Robba, Charlie Perez, Dr Cortes, Liesl Torres and Stephen Warr launch the initiative

The Transition into Employment Interview with Neil Costa When a seismic and impromptu cabinet re-shuffle was called by the Chief Minister last December, one of the most significant shifts of ministerial responsibility was that of the former Tourism, Commercial Affairs, Public Transport and Port Minister, Neil Costa. Taking on the new role of Minister for Employment, Labour, Business, Skills and Training from former Political heavyweight and unofficial Father of the Parliament Joe Bossano, Neil, a staunch Liberal Party member and one of the youngest members of Cabinet, discusses with us some of the shifts in the Employment service and the Government’s determination to work with start ups and small businesses… Firstly, having been in your new role for four months how have you found the transition from Tourism, Commercial Affairs, Public Transport and the Port to Employment, Labour, Skills and Training and Business? What are some of the biggest challenges you have come across? The transition has certainly been refreshing and exciting and Employment is very different to my previous responsibilities of Tourism, Public Transport

and the Port. The direct interaction on a personal level with members of the public who are seeking employment is very fulfilling and rewarding, especially when you are able to assist them. What may be seen as challenges, are also opportunities. My biggest challenge will be to continue the excellent work and success that my predecessor, Minister Bossano, achieved in his tenure, by successfully reducing unemployment from 1,300 to a record-busting low of 228 in December last year.

It seems one of your biggest aims is to modernize the employment system and move towards developing e-government further. What are some of the initiatives you are working on with regards to this? How ‘online’ are you looking to make the employment service? As Minister for Business and Employment, I am entirely committed to improving the interface between the public and private sector. As a result, the modernisation of the systems within my Ministry will empower officials in their efforts to serve the public and provide the community with the first class service that they deserve. In particular, my Ministerial team and I and our colleagues at the Department of Employment are especially committed to ensuring that we find gainful employment for all those seeking work. Reforms of the Department of Employment are being rolled out as a major administrative transformation to change the way the Department interacts with service users. New software will be introduced that will allow the community to access data online. Also, the Labour Inspectorate has been re-organised to allow them to carry out regular inspections on businesses as announced on the 25th March. Our aim is to digitise all employment service registration requirements, bringing our systems in line with modern registration procedures.

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Further, we are building a solid online database and introducing a new computer system that will serve the Employment Department for years to come. It is envisaged that unemployed persons will directly benefit from this system in their efforts to find suitable employment.

over 5 years. Applications will be looked at for their individual merits and the criteria that will be looked at includes evidence of demand, innovation, sustainability and risk, and if the project represents good value for money, among other considerations.

The scheme itself is not only limited to start-ups, but established businesses will also be able to apply should they have a new venture that they are interested in launching or wish to expand and accelerate their current business and require funding to do so.

What state was the employment Department in when you took it over?

As Minister for Small Businesses, I am therefore very pleased to announce that Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar will be able to offer the opportunity to members of the public to start their own commercial enterprises or to help those small businesses that wish to expand.

How much influence does the GFSB and Chamber of Commerce have on many of the policies rolled out by your Department? How necessary is their input?

The Employment service is in a very robust and healthy position in respect of human resources; the key, is to modernise systems to fully enable and empower our officials to carry out their function as efficiently and effectively as humanly possible. As I stated earlier, the successes achieved by this Department was evidenced by the lowest levels of unemployment recorded. Tell us a bit about the Business Nurturing Scheme, just announced this week… The Gibraltar Business Nurturing Scheme is a fund of £250k that Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar will be offering to local businesses, both established and new, that successfully apply for a loan. The funds will be released by way of loan, with a fixed interest rate of 2%. The loans themselves will be limited to a maximum sum of £25k and repayable

Between this scheme and the recently revealed EU funding for start ups in Gibraltar there is a great deal of opportunity for small businesses in Gibraltar, why so much focus on start ups?

The Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses and the Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce are the two main representative bodies for businesses in Gibraltar and, as a result, they have been actively involved in this project. One only has to look at their involvement in the Office of Fair Trading, that has, I am very pleased to say, seen an unprecedented level of consultation and one that was warmly welcomed by both umbrella organisations.

Ask anyone in economic or business circles and they will immediately advise you that start-ups are essential to the continued success of our economy. They bring in new ideas, new business and Finally, moving towards potential eleckeep existing businesses on their toes. This is a very good thing for consumers tion time, is this a portfolio you would wish to keep, assuming you stand and and for the businesses themselves. the Alliance is re-elected? Not to mention, small businesses colBoth the timing of the election and the lectively, constitute the biggest employer in Gibraltar. It is, therefore, critical that allocation of the portfolios is entirely we provide the right conditions for these within the gift of the Chief Minister… to establish themselves, grow and to you should ask him! create employment opportunities.

T: +350 200 68450 E: info@ramparts.eu www.ramparts.eu GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

”Let’s Talk” Managing Communication in the Workplace Q. One of my managers has a few difficult people in her team and they take up a lot of her time. I think it may be the manager’s communication that is the problem. What can I do to help her? When communicating, it is important to know what you want from the conversation. There are four basic purposes of communication; to inform, to persuade, to ask a question and to learn something. So think of a conversation you need to have and ask yourself these three questions and the answers will help you see what direction you want to take;

What reaction do I want from the other person? What do I want them to remember from the conversation? What do I want them to do as a result of this conversation? GAIN BUY IN In order to reduce possible misunderstandings begin important conversations by inviting the other person to join you in the specific kind of conversation you want to have. Share your direction with the other person e.g

BE AWARE

with someone, it will make a big differ- The third principle of effective comence if you get their buy-in by briefly munication is to develop emotional awareness. When emotions are running explaining your intention. high, it’s difficult to have important When people agree to talk to us, they conversations. At work, the most comare more likely to be invested in the mon emotions in difficult situations are conversation and more willing to meet probably frustration and anger. our needs, or alternatively, thoughtfully Most people know when they’re angry— explain why not. what they need to develop emotional awareness about is why they are angry. Angry people tend to jump to—and LISTEN act on—conclusions and some of those One of the basic human desires is to be conclusions can be very inaccurate. Do listened to and understood. Listening to not say the first thing that pops into your others helps them listen to you, thereby head; think carefully about what you transforming the conversation. In emo- want to say. Also don’t take it personally: tionally charged conversations where Nothing others do or say is because of opinions vary and the stakes are high, you. What others do and say is a projection of their own reality onto you. listening with empathy is critical. There are three core listening skills to master: inquiry, paraphrasing, and acknowledgment. HELP THEM COMMUNICATE Inquiry: It is important to find out what the other person knows or does not know about the situation you are discussing. A good way to do this is to ask open-ended questions to uncover hidden assumptions.

-“Wendy, can you sit down for a minute and Acknowledgment is an under-used let me tell you what happened?” but powerful tool for defusing negative emotions. What makes some conversaThe more the conversation is going to tions difficult is that people have strong mean to you, the more important it is feelings that can block open communifor the other person to understand the cation. Acknowledgment honours the big picture. If you need to have a long, other person’s perspective, even if you complex, or emotion-laden conversation do not agree with it.

words | Sylvia Kenna, The HR Dept

You want to create an environment that allows the other person to express their feelings without losing face. It is important to help them maintain their dignity in any situation. Maintain a consistent tone of voice that is firm but not hostile—and especially not condescending. Addressing the content does include recognising emotions. “I can tell you are frustrated”, “I can see this discussion is making you upset.”

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

A good people manager will have a high level of self-awareness to understand how they are perceived by others. Although they will have preferred styles of communicating and managing people, they must be able to adapt to different people and situations. To do this, managers must be able to quickly identify what is required of them in certain situations. A good way to raise your awareness of self and the differences between people, is to use a psychometric tool such as the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) check out www.thehrdept.gi/psychometrics/. This is one of the first steps to more effective communication.

If you need a cooling-off period commit BE FLEXIBLE to continuing the conversation later, schedule a specific time to meet. If what you’re doing is not working, try something different. Flexibility is a sign When dealing with a difficult situation, of health and the essence of effectiveness. be aware of the direction your interaction It involves getting feedback and having is taking. If you get off track, refocus more than one choice in a given situation. your efforts by taking a break for a few “The most important thing in minutes, thinking it through, and then communication is to hear what isn’t said” getting back on track toward a solution. – Peter Drucker

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GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • APRIL 2015

EMPLOYERS AND PROVIDERS NEED TO WORK TOGETHER TO IMPROVE WOMENS EDUCATION, AWARENESS AND CONFIDENCE IN RETIREMENT PLANNING

WOMEN!

EDUCATE YOURSELVES ON PENSIONS! Data quoted in this article is taken from the Scottish Widows “Women and Retirement Report” published November 2014

Most people struggle to put enough money away to fund a comfortable retirement but the challenge is particularly difficult for women who take time out of work to raise a family. Whether taking an extended career break or returning to work part-time, mothers will usually see their income reduce significantly. With the added costs of raising a family, pensions are often relegated to the bottom of the priority list. Almost 20% of women in their thirties prioritise financially supporting their children above saving for retirement, according to the latest annual Scottish Widows Women and Retirement Report. Furthermore 21% of women in this age group expect to rely on their partner’s income for retirement. This can be a risky move – especially considering the rising divorce rate among couples in their fifties and sixties.

Thanks to compound interest, any money saved into a pension in your twenties or thirties will work hard over the years to grow your retirement income. So continuing saving even a small amount can have a significant impact. DON’T RELY SOLELY ON YOUR PARTNER’S PENSION Unfortunately, marriages do break down – in the UK around 42% end in divorce according to the UK’s Office for National Statistics. Pensions are frequently undervalued in divorce settlements, so make sure you have separate provision. Among divorced women, a staggering 84% either said pensions weren’t dis-

cussed or that they couldn’t remember them being discussed as part of any settlement. That’s despite the fact that more women than men think they would be entitled to a share of their partner’s pension if they were to split up. Don’t disregard saving as a couple, though. If the husband or partner is a higher–rate taxpayer, or if his employer will match some or all of any contribution he makes to his pension scheme, it could be worthwhile using his scheme. Nevertheless, there is still a natural tendency for women to rely on their partner for financial support later in life. 14% of women expect to rely on their partner’s company pension in retirement and 11% expect to rely on their partner’s income or state pension.

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

THERE’S STILL AN AWARENESS GAP

pension while on a career break, it can be about their own retirement difficult unless you have a flexible penAccording to Scottish Widows’ research and financial security. Taking sion plan like the EFPG Jubilee Personal suitably qualified independent • only 15 % of women say they fully Pension Plan which is flexible and allows advice is a very good start tocontributions to stop, start, increase and understand pensions, wards making the right deci• just 29 % of women are currently decrease without penalty. sions leading to the retirement part of a company pension scheme, they want. • 78% of women don’t know how Another element is to ensure that the much they will need to save for re- tax reliefs that are available for tax approved pension schemes like the EFPG tirement, • 9 out of 10 women don’t have a fi- Jubilee Personal Pension Plan are used TO ALL WOMEN AND YOUNG LADIES to the full. nancial adviser. We’re encouraging you to engage in We must encourage engagement in an open seminar to address the serious pensions and the pension industry can shortfall of funds that many women will Government and employers improve educational resources and face in retirement if they do not plan for need to work together to enaccess to information and advice that their future correctly. sure that more people can look is designed to resonate with a female forward to retirement rather audience and which is available at key This seminar will be held on Thursday trigger points, such as at the beginning 14th May at 5pm at the Gibraltar Federthan fear poverty in old age. and end of career breaks. Again Scottish ation of Small Businesses in their offices There are a number of other changes Widows’ research indicates that women at 122 Irish Town. A glass of complethat would better help prepare women are generally less confident, but not mentary champagne will be available necessarily less well informed, than men on arrival at 5pm, followed by an open for retirement. about the world of pensions. discussion and tapas. The first is how to continue to close the While pensions will rarely, if This is a charity event for WOMEN IN gap between men and women’s saving NEED. Raffle tickets priced at £5 each levels. Women tend to have lower levels ever, be front of mind for most will be on sale to win a luxury Spa packof long-term savings than men due to people, women would benefit age for two. Any other donations will be career breaks. from asking more questions welcome. The event is kindly sponsored both of themselves and others by EFPG. Although women can save into a private GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Women & Pensions Awareness Campaign Charity Seminar

To all women and young ladies We’re encouraging you to engage in an open seminar to address the serious shortage of funds available that many women will face in retirement, if they do not plan for their future correctly. • 5 things every mother should tell their daughter about savings and future financial security • How to plan for the future you want • Should all private sector employers be obliged to provide a pension scheme for their employees? • Pensions and Divorce • Women and Tax Savings Call us at +350 200 49750 or email tanyawilkinson@efpg.net to reserve your space.

Women and Pensions Awareness Campaign When: Thursday, May 14th, 5.00pm Where: 122 Irish Town, Gibraltar GFSB Conference Room. Complimentary champagne on arrival at 5.00pm, followed by open discussions and complimentary tapas. Charity Raffle to win a luxury Spa Package for two. All donations welcome in aid of Women In Need. Contact Tanya to reserve your space: tanyawilkinson@efpg.net or Tel +35020049750. This is a charity event for Women in Need. Raffle tickets to win a Luxury Spa Package for two at £5.00 each. All donations welcome. Kindly funded by EFPG.

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How to Be a Green, Clean, cooking machine

For many families, the kitchen is the heart of the home; it’s where we prepare our meals, socialize with friends and family, and spend a great deal of our time! Although we may not think about this, our kitchens also have a big impact on the environment. It’s a place we generate food waste, have high water consumption and contribute to about 15% of total home energy use; these all directly impact on the earth’s natural resources and our pockets when it comes to bills! In order to help the environment and save money, there are a number of simple ways you and your family could be greener in your kitchen. Keep foods slightly apart on refrigerator shelves and remove any bulky packaging as increased circulation will help to keep the fridge cooler. In the freezer, the removal of built-up frost that exceeds 6mm will also have the same increased cooling effect, helping to reduce power demands on your appliance. When it comes to cooking, simply thawing frozen foods during the day without the help of water could save approximately 15 minutes on cooking time

meaning less energy consumption and savings on your energy bills! Washing fruit and veg in a bowl is also an effective way of saving water, energy and money too. Ensuring pots completely cover hotplates, keeping lids on them, and making sure the oven door remains shut until food is completely cooked can

Simply thawing frozen foods during the day could save 15 minutes on cooking time meaning less energy consumption and savings on your energy bills! also save energy. Opening the oven door whilst in use to take a peek can cause the temperature inside to reduce by as much as 25 degrees, forcing the oven to work even harder (and use more energy) to get back to the set cooking temperature!

time, take the opportunity to clean up and give your stovetop a good scrubbing because the cleaner the hotplates are, the more efficiently they work! If using dishwashers to help clear up, use efficient cycles to reduce water consumption too! Searching for new appliances? Look to install A+ rated appliances that will achieve significant savings in energy and money! Did you know a new A+ rated electric oven will consume 40 % less energy than a B rated oven? These kinds of savings are just an example of the difference A-rated fridges, freezers and dishwashers can make to your home and the environment. In addition to this, new technology induction stovetops could also be the answer to greener kitchens worldwide; proving up to 50% more energy-efficiency than existing gas and electric ones, these stovetops made from alternative metals can transfer 90% of generated heat directly to the pan reducing wasted energy and cooking time.

Once dinners have been made, give them time to cool down before putting With so many simple ways to save them in the fridge as uncovered hot food energy and water in the kitchen why not and liquids give off vapors that make the help to make the heart of your home a refrigerator work harder. In the mean- greener one today! GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Be a Green, Clean, Cooking Machine! They say the kitchen is the heart of the home; so let’s make it greener & more efficient! A few simple changes to the way you run your kitchen could reduce your energy bills & help the environment! Save energy by investing in A+ rated appliances, run efficient cycles on your dish washer, cook using lids, boil only what water you need and don’t open the oven door whilst cooking to take a peek!

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GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Popularity

Does it Really Not Matter?

words | Eve Maddock-Jones

Popularity is defined as “the state or condition of being liked, admired or supported by many people”. This concept has been a social phenomenon in human civilization for centuries. In today’s modern society-particularly in the Western cultures-the breeding ground for this phenomenon is our local schools, with Gibraltar being of no exception. Here children learn the ideas and develop the characteristics which they will take forward into adulthood whilst in constant interaction with their peers. The prominent presence of Popularity in the microcosm of school reflects the wider socio-cultural affinity to the condition. But what is the effect of Popularity? Is it truly as important and influential as it’s stereotyped to be? Is so are we all guilty of succumbing to its demands at some level?

to be a clichéd investigation, but these stereotypes are born from some reality. Recent studies carried out by children’s psychologists from Illinois University in America have found that “from the age of 8 years old children present an awareness of popularity and consequently a reaction to it reflected in their individual behaviour”. To display an awareness of the social-cultural expectation of Popularity at a young age is evidence of truth to the stereotype. Transferring the American’s hypothesis onto our own local Gibraltarian Schools allows us to contemplate Popularity’s prevalence at our grass-roots level.

When asked about whether they thought they were “popular” one A-Level stuExamining the idea of Popularity with- dent answered, that “if you’re asking if in a school environment may appear I have the most friends, then no I’m not

popular. But I’m also not the most openly hated person so in that case I am”. How Popularity is measured appears to be the crux of the idea since it defines what it means to different people. If Popularity is judged by how many friends you have or how many “likes” your photos get on social media then Popularity becomes a measure of public favourable attention. Taking this as the basis of Popularity it then supports the attitude of measuring your self-worth and recognition through other people’s opinions and perceptions of you. But is this a measure of success? Again it depends on the individual. But for this concept to be prevalent to people from a young age on a daily basis it opens up an abyss of issues to flood out GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

from. Bullying is perhaps the most wellknown consequence. Acknowledging that from a young age an awareness of Popularity is apparent it gives way to classification or labelling. If you do not “fit” with the current trend decided by what is most favoured and followed you defy a majority. Thus the person becomes a more obvious target for abuse. This consequential sequence accounts for the rise in the number of cases of bullying amongst children and teenagers. Indeed local Gibraltarian educators noted the rise, with “social websites heightening the effects. It allows the perpetrator to gain a more brutal, safeguarded attack due to the ‘Anonymous’ aspect of online sociality”. Whilst Gibraltar’s obviously a free society it shares the flaw with its Western capitalist contemporaries, that the invaluable free speech is abused by individuals due to socio-cultural expectations. Gibraltar is undoubtedly a cohesive support network, evidence by the presence of organisations aimed at helping issue such as bullying, Childline Gibraltar for example. But paradoxically the presence of these support systems is evidence of the recognised issues, partially a product of popularity pressures and expectations. Should it not be the case-in relation to this issue- that a free society is one which makes it safe for a person to be unpopular?

acts as a foundation of modern demo- Although some take it far more seriously than others, juxtaposed to some procratic societies. fessing to “not care what other people Currently in Gibraltar, and equally so in say” we are all under some Popularity our overseas UK counterpart it’s partic- pressure however non-superficial you ularly prevalent. Popularity has become claim to be. the core humanitarian aspect of the voting system. Each party and member Popularity may have some negative stigcarry out immense lobbying campaigns ma if interpreted to judge inadequacies upon the general voting public in their rather than merits, but it is an aspect of efforts to secure both their support and human nature to compare and contrast, votes. Success with this consequently resulting in preferential tendencies wins them support and therefore makes of people or trends. It’s how we as a them “popular” with the general public. community channel our socio-cultural expectations of Popularity, which deterTo emanate the idea that Popularity mine the overall attitudes towards it. By constitutes success in arguably the most having a positive, accepting outlook on powerful and insidious aspect of soci- it Gibraltarians may well be able to live Of course the presence of Popularity ety-Government-it constitutes that each the life they want more fully, rather than outside of school in the wider social person is inadvertently susceptible to it. living a life to impress others. spectrum is apparent. Subversively it

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Ghost Hunting in Moorish Castle Prison – A Sceptic’s Experience The paranormal continues to be somewhat of a taboo subject these days. As a staunch logicist but desperately gullible individual, I continually teeter on the fence of belief in the paranormal; but with an open mind I’m always willing to be directed in one direction or the other. For this reason I spent the night of Friday 9th April hunting ghosts with Gibraltar’s Soulseekers. As the go to gang for anything paranormal and spiritual, they are a small group of self-professed healers, mediums, psychics, true believers and empaths of the supernatural. They welcome those in the community that believe they have the gift of connecting with haunted souls, as well as those who have a general interest in the un-dead.

and generally interested individuals, the hunt was initiated by Samantha protecting the group from any negative spiritual energy. I heaved a sigh of relief at this point. I’m sceptical, but surely it’s better to be safe than sorry. She addressed everyone in the courtyard as the 8pm sun slunk lazily towards the horizon. ‘We all work on different levels. I’m the medium and what that means is that I’m able to connect with the souls, obviously, and speak to them. I’m also able to bring them in to give you more of an experience. I can also let them into my energy field and that is called physical mediumship. What will happen then, only on my command, is that I’ll be able to let a soul in with permission and you’ll be able to see my face shift and take on the characteristics of that soul.’

Formerly known as the Gibraltar Paranormal Society Kayron Pozo, his wife Krisanne, Giselle Holloway and her equipment including a night vision husband Brian, Celia Garcia and locally camera, an EMF detector (for detecting renown medium (perhaps best known shifts in the electromagnetic field), a digfor her role in GBC’s The Ghost Trail) ital recorder, echoVox (an app that uses Samantha Donbavand headed the charrandomized sounds to pick up word and ity ghost hunt in the infamous Moorish phrases through radio channels), the Castle prison. Guiding a group of twenty very similar blackVox and darkVox, molocals, a mixed bag of believers, sceptics The hunt involved a host of technical tion sensors and digital thermometers.

The full Soulseekers Team including Physical Medium Sam Donbavand

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

The location is what sparked the interest of many of those who took part. The Moorish Castle Prison was shut down in 2010 when the Prison Service moved to new premises in Windmill Hill. The building maintains a great deal of heritage value through the original stone structure, with the original cells and lime kiln where the burning of hanged inmates’ bodies occurred, still intact. The pole from which former inmates were hanged also remains in tact, hovering over the courtyard, often with pigeons perched on it.

Sam urges group members to hold the spiritual energy she’s been channeling

see anything physical but the unsettling vibes had certainly opened my mind to Once the sun had set and the group set- the idea of what was potentially going tled themselves into the former Segrega- on and any negative spiritual energy that tion Wing, torches were switched off and may have been around us. Samantha initiated the séance. Members of the group murmured that the air felt MR. SCEPTIC dense, some feeling an unjustified sense of anxiety. Communicating through The evening continued with groups split the EchoVox Samantha channelled between Soulseekers members, allowing the energy of former inmate ‘Derek’. for them to explore the premises and get The EMF detector spiked sporadically to work more closely with the echoVox throughout the session. The intensity equipment. The team’s goal for the eveof Samantha’s voice repeatedly asking ning was unanimous, they wanted the what had happened on the 11th, and group to each have their own personal the eerie dulcet tones of the echoVox supernatural experience. Their eagerness sparked a ghostly atmosphere, spooking to explore the old prison for the first one group member who said he was time maintained a buzz of excitement feeling cold and uneasy with an unex- throughout the entire night. Whilst plained pain in his lower leg. Samantha many of the sceptical group members revealed that the inmate had suffered left having felt closer to believing in the a disability and other group members supernatural, and very willing to join the began to feel affected. Two women team on their second charity hunt in aid struggled desperately to stifle their of Wobblez, on 24th April, one staunch giggling, insisting that it was entirely doubter remained un-phased. This was uncontrollable. Samantha explained that until the last minute as everyone left the female presence had sparked the delight premises feeling like they’d spent their of one particular light-hearted spirit who Friday night productively. As if to give was channelling through them via fits us intruders a final warning, a single of laughter. As the group fished for any rock flew from the building towards the uneasy feelings and energies in the room courtyard following an echoing door one man stepped forward claiming he slam in the now empty premise. Cementfelt unable to breathe properly. ‘Some- ing their belief in the negative energy one was hanged,’ he insisted. Kayron in the building the team members left, revealed that one former inmate had directing their gaze to Mr. Sceptic who indeed hanged himself in his cell, in that would be returning on the next tour, as very wing. I found myself getting caught the group’s guide from the Gibraltar up in the heat of the surroundings and Museum. He shrugged, unconvinced. becoming quite on edge. I had yet to ‘Small rock falls happen often up here.’ THE SÉANCE AND THE HANGED INMATE

The original prison cells protected by Heritage Status. Can you spot the eerie figure in the back wall?

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Missus, I feel like a woman! words | Elena Scialtiel

A new Beauty Pageant launched in Gibraltar, but with a different mantra… Beauty with purpose knows no age commitment, but also from busy career success of the first show: “Our other limits in the first edition of Mrs. Gibraltar women like receptionists, secretaries, project, Gib’s Got Talent, started as a onethis July, the beauty pageant to elect the health professionals and officers of the off charity event in memory of Ana Luisa law. Most enquirers were Ressa, Angel and Rossanna’s mother, but local candidate to Mrs. Universe, whose motto is “The winner will be worried about the much we are in our sixth year now and getting dreaded bikini routine, stronger!” ‘one universe, one voice, selected for her indi- which we will probably to stop violence against There’s room for a talent segment viduality and poise. phase out in favour of should the contestants choose to particwomen’. It isn’t about being the stylish alternative ipate, as the organisers count on their Ideal Productions is the pretty – it is all about of swimsuit and sarong input towards the design of the proofficial representative of – after all, the pageant gramme. Entertainment will be provided the Mrs. Universe franbeing a woman.” doesn’t focus on beautiful by local acts during the lulls, allowing for chise in Gibraltar and the team will coach the local winner towards bodies, but rather on beautiful persons.” outfit changes and the judging panel’s Details are not yet cemented and the deliberation. attending the prestigious, albeit lesser known international event in Minsk, show will take shape as rehearsals go Revving to start realong, in consultation Belarus, at the end of August. hearsals, the group is “Every year, when with the participants, to buzzing for the busy sumit’s over, we tell each mer ahead, with Gib’s tailor the routines to their The first princess will be entered in Mrs. other ‘never again’, Got Talent in June and talents and strong suits. World and the second princess in Mrs. but then can’t resist early July. “Every year, Participants will be reEurope. The contest is open to married quired to shop for nothing when it’s over, we tell women without restrictions of size, doing it anyway ...” but their own shoes and each other ‘never again’, height and age because it banks on the evening gowns, while other outfits will but then we can’t resist doing it anyway beauty within and the celebration of a be provided thanks to the generous because we have so much fun with it woman’s life, a promise kept rather than sponsorship that Ideal Productions is and we want to offer a platform for any a promise made. lobbying for. kind of local talent to be discovered. We are very proud that several of the acts Mrs. Universe’s regulations do not we discovered went on to successfully One staple segment of the pageant will accept unmarried delegates, even if they perform at other venues.” be the promotion of the charities conmatch the age criteria of 25 or over, so testants will pick and raise money for. Ideal Productions founder and director Mrs. Gibraltar must also comply with Angel Ressa and his collaborators juggle this restriction. The ladies will also have to talk Co-organisers and stage directors Rossanna Ressa with The Ideal Productions Team Mark Andrades and former Miss Gi- about their life achievements in braltar (1997) Rossanna Ressa say this a lengthy interview that will be is the perfect second chance for those pre-recorded and played back as who didn’t sign up to Miss Gibraltar in a background to each individual their youth, for one reason or the other catwalk. This will take away the (studying abroad, married young, had pressure of a live interview and children...), as well as for those who will be a meaningful alternative were not interested at the time, but are to booming music for them to curious about taking the runway later in strut their stuff on stage. life, for fun, for passion or for boosting their self-esteem. A Busy Summer for “We had expressions of interest from Ideal Productions all walks of life and ages,” Rossanna Ideal Productions is commitsays, “mainly from stay-at-home mums ted to making Mrs. Gibraltar an who might have some spare time for the annual event, depending on the

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

their passion for casting, producing, acting, lighting and sound with their ‘day jobs’ as well as families and young kids, who are all infected with showbiz fever: “My fourteen-year old gives a hand backstage and my ten-year old does the ushering,” says Rossanna. “We’re breaking the mould with Mrs. Gibraltar,” Mark says. “The winner will be selected for her individuality and poise. It isn’t about being pretty – it is all about being a woman. We didn’t know what response we would get when we first publicised the auditions, but so far it exceeded expectations.” Meet the Mrs. Gibraltar Pageant’s first five contestants: Serika Garcia, Ivanka Howe, Demelza Duo, Kadiuska Prescott, Ana Mor

High tea with a giggle, anyone? Go on then, it is for charity! Local theatre group LOL Productions is choosing an innovative format this year, after their winning streak of full-length original comedies that had the John Mackintosh Theatre laughing out loud over the past few years. This time they decided to awe their audiences with a different kind of tea party: besides having you mad hatters tee-heeing for over an hour, it will donate all proceedings towards helping Ebola orphans in Sierra Leone rebuild their lives. The dinner-theatre type production Showtime at Teatime will take place on Sunday 17th May at 6pm on board the Sunborn ‘floatel’. Guests will enjoy tea and nibbles while watching over an hour of Yanito comedy, featuring sketches galore and sing-alongs of parodied chart songs, all in the spirit of poking fun at Gibraltarian quirks. The show is the brainchild of producer and director Giselle Baker, with the assistance of her son Jordan in sound and music editing. It will feature a ten-strong cast of women alongside Jordan who has participated in four out of five of the previous LOL Productions shows. The story revolves around the everyday dealings of a group of neighbours in a block of flats, waiting for a lift that never comes. “There’s an actual lift in the ballroom, where the show will take place,” Giselle says, “so that part of the set is... set.” The other locations will be painted on a four-sided pillar, which will pivot to provide the appropriate background to each scene within the story and all related songs including old ‘hits’ from previous shows. Fans of the LOL team may remember the legendary ‘El Quarry’. New musical entries such as a parody of Meghan Trainor’s All About That Bass, and a tribute to the hosting yacht on the notes of Loveboat, will also feature. “I believe that props and costumes help the audience better visualise the scene and

the actors better get into character, that’s why I always make sure to build a detailed set, make props and sew colourful costumes,” Giselle explains. “When it comes to writing jokes I am not that much into English humour, but I get a lot of inspiration from Yanito humour,” she adds. The lines will be delivered in a thick mix of English and Spanish, but non-Spanish speakers are guaranteed a good time anyway, because of the lively performance and hectic action on stage. Comedy is a serious hobby for Giselle, who can count on the use of her private soundproof studio to record the songs,

which unfortunately cannot be sold on CD, due to the backing tracks being copyrighted to international artists. Giselle has however already got an original musical production, all made in Gib, in the pipeline for next year. She claims that the storyline and a couple of songs have already been composed. A limited number of tickets for Showtime at Teatime, priced £15, are available from LOL Productions Facebook page. If request exceeds expectations, the group will consider alternative venues to stage repeat soirées in due course. As it is customary for LOL Productions, private premieres will be offered to Mount Alvernia guests. words | Elena Scialtiel

Prone to Psephology

Have you been excited by the debates, promises and coverage surrounding the UK general election? Are you fully aware that Polling Day is Thursday 7 May, just after this column appears? And later on in the year will you be even more switched on by our own election here in Gibraltar? If the answers are “no” then further reading may not be recommended. This piece takes a topical view of elections in general and their influence on the financial aspects of our lives in particular. You may already have gathered that I can answer those questions with an emphatic “yes”. And I go further: I am already fascinated by the forthcoming general election in Spain where voters will be asked to acudir a las urnas on or before Sunday 20 December this year – the date is fixed in law. Yes I have well and truly caught the election bug. I’ve got it bad and in fact it goes further for, dear reader, I am a (hitherto, secret) psephologist, fascinated by

the “-ology” that goes with it. Psephology is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “the statistical study of elections and trends in voting.” In my case, this fascination with the electoral process is nothing new; I remember listening clandestinely to the US presidential election results under the bedcovers as a boy. I won’t reveal which president, for I feel old enough already, suffice to say that my contemporaries were tuning in to Radio Luxembourg at the time! I thought for this month’s column I would consider the elections happening around us focussing on their importance to the state of the financial world as it recovers from the global crisis of the last few years.

First of all, I start with an important disclaimer. Last month’s column entitled “Is Offshore Really ‘Orrible” generated a larger than normal postbag some of which suggested that I had been somewhat more controversial than usual. It certainly wasn’t my intention but hopefully the subject attracted people’s attention and generated some interest. Therefore, it is with more than a little trepidation that I dedicate this month’s piece to elections. I am acutely aware that writing about the subject is a risk – after all I have always been advised to avoid politics, religion and certain other areas. So let me make it clear: I am not suggesting how anyone should exercise GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

their vote i.e. in any particular direction. That is after all the point of democracy. But I do think it vital that we play our part and engage in the process. Sometimes, one doesn’t have a choice when it comes to electing a government. In more than twenty countries worldwide, voting is compulsory – Australia is a good example. At the other end of the political spectrum of course, in far too many places, the general public remain unable to take part in a fair and open democratic process – even in 2015. This is the main reason why anyone telling me “they never vote” or “it makes no difference” is likely to find me jumping on to my psephology band wagon once more! But let’s return to the finance element of all of this. Eight years ago, “We Live in Financial Times” was launched as a slogan for a major British newspaper (no prizes though for guessing which one I’m afraid). “Be careful what you wish for” could have been another useful phrase to choose at the time for in the period since 2008, we have lived through the most “interesting” financial times ever seen. Of course for many people, more appropriate adjectives than “interesting” will be employed. The crisis has left individuals, families, organisations and in some cases entire countries financially broken. All around the world, the crisis exploded from 2008 although the effects manifested themselves in different ways. Similarly, the global recovery is starting to happen – but at startlingly uneven rates across the world. The situation in Britain for example is unlike that in the rest of Europe and the US position is again different. For me, this is one of the main reasons why the elections that are planned for 2015 are so important Focussing on Europe, the Greeks went to the polls in late January where the economy – and specifically how to repay her massive international debts was the dominant issue. Syriza came to power as a result and since then has been negotiating with the “troika” – that includes the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF – over debt repayment. Similarly, the UK election has concentrated on the economy as a recovery takes hold although other issues such as a possible referendum on EU membership, immigration and the GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Scottish question have all taken centre stage too. In Spain later in the year, the economy will be a key issue although it will be fascinating to see too how the established political groupings deal with the new Podemos and Citizens parties. For us in Gibraltar, as one of the most “switched on” electorates anywhere, our general election will doubtless be fought on local issues but the results of the UK poll are likely to leave their mark. For example the possibility of holding an “in-out” referendum where Britain considers its future relationship with the EU will of course be followed closely. The main reason elections affect financial markets is when uncertainty dominates. Any indecision can be severely punished so that currency and stock markets are adversely affected, or even the interest rates countries are charged when managing their own international debt. By their very nature, elections cause uncertainty and in recent times, coalition governments have become the way of life in many European countries. Since 2010, the UK too has seen its first coalition for 65 years that could be followed by another, depending on the UK result on 7th May. Think about any election you have taken part in – as a voter or maybe even a contender. Electioneering is all about promises and convincing the electors that a candidate has the best grasp of the issues at hand. For most people, finances, be they one’s personal affairs or perhaps the nation’s overall financial position are likely to be uppermost in the mind as votes are cast. It is worth considering though that in

times past, the country’s defence was by far the most important area to consider. Indeed the UK government states that are providing security for the nation and its Overseas Territories (that includes Gibraltar ), safeguarding its citizens and their way of life remains the most important responsibility of Government. In most cases of course, governments are charged with the administration of a single country. Increasingly, most have to work with wider supra-national bodies that in financial terms can be very intrusive. Perhaps the best example is the European Union itself which sets rules for twenty eight countries to follow that must be rendered compatible with individual countries’ laws – sometimes a very hard thing to achieve. So there you have it – a brief overview of how the financial world dominates elections and by extension, we psephologists. But don’t take my word for it. Back in 1992, Bill Clinton was asked why he should be elected in place of President Bush. A simple, if somewhat insulting response followed – but one that rings true over twenty years later: “It’s the economy, stupid”. Maybe we’re not stupid but the first bit is certainly true. In all the elections we are seeing taking place around us this year, the financial situation dominates. Enjoy the debate!

Meeting the Needs of the Community Moving into its allocated premises imminently the Gibraltar International Bank is on its way to opening its doors to the public ‘certainly before the summer’. Although a process that has faced the occasional hiccup, the monumental task of setting up a bank ‘in a very short period of time’ has proved successful thus far. With over 3,000 online applications for personal and corporate accounts having been submitted since the service launched a few months ago, the Government’s initial intentions to set up GIB to fill a gap left in the retail bank industry has been welcomed wholeheartedly by the community. Available Services The real relevance of this feature is of course how the new bank will benefit the public and what is on offer to them. In keeping with the services available at other retail banks GIB will present ‘traditional retail products’ including current accounts, business accounts, foreign exchange services, propositions for small businesses, high net worth companies and more complex clients, mortgages and schemes for students and the youth. Within the business world services will extend to commercial mortgages, commercial lending and overdrafts for businesses. Many of the propositions will cater specifically to different sectors of the community, for example older clients will be granted cheque books to no additional cost as they may not be as familiar with digital banking. Cheque books can also be issued to businesses at a cost, whilst no cheque books will be issued to any other account holder. This comes as part of the bank’s move towards a more digital banking age. The bank will offer an ‘automated wall’

with ATMs and cash and cheque deposit machines allowing customers to carry out most of their banking within the banking hall of the bank. Much work has been done to ensure that services are digitalized. Clients will also have access to a ‘full spectrum of banking services’ on top of the standard ones. Customers will also have at their disposal a number of client service assistants to give clients a personal touch. ‘We want people to feel that we know them by name,’ Chief Operating Officer Derek Sene explains. ‘This will be traditional banking with a modern feel.’ He goes on to insist that attention to clients and understanding their needs has lost its way in some retail banks in both Gibraltar and the UK. All decisions will be made in-house, in Gibraltar, with customer services entirely locally based, allowing the bank staff to gain local knowledge and get to know customers outside of their paperwork.

The Process of Recruitment Two years in the pipeline, and one year in development the Bank now has a team of sixty-two staff members behind it, all recruited locally. CEO Lawrence Podesta envisions medium term growth for staff as the bank matures. When asked whether preference was made to former employees of Gibraltar’s Barclay’s branch, which announced its closure in 2013, Mr. Podesta insisted that there was none. ‘One of the conditions initially set, because the bank would not have a head office, was that we needed

to recruit the best people in the market place. We opened [recruitment] up to the whole of the market place and not just Barclays Bank, but yes we also managed to employ a number of people from Barclays who had a lot of experience and knowledge.’ The recruitment process spanned six months; staff members were carefully picked for their wealth of knowledge, experience (spanning an average of 15 years) and personalities while opportunity was also given to graduates straight out of University and via the Government’s Future Job Strategy. Overcoming the Hurdles The senior management faced initial hurdles. Lawrence insisted that ‘the process of setting up a bank from scratch is not easy’. He added that there are ‘numerous hurdles that you have to jump over and sort out, but none of these were unexpected because we knew we were going to face these and we knew we would have to do some negotiating with different parties, but I can say that at the end of it all none of them have materialized into huge problems that we have not been able to overcome.’ The bank has officially been granted its license by the Financial Services Commission. Since its inception the team worked closely with the Commission. The license is only now subject to the final inspection by them at the actual premises ‘where they would like to oversee some testing of the IT infrastructure.’ GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Any plans to branch out internationally and into other sectors, such as wealth management, are not on the CEO’s current radar. ‘We feel that first of all we need to set up in Gibraltar and drive the business forward here and eventually, if it is within the appetite of the shareholder and the board of directors, [we] could venture into another field.’ The bank’s focus is currently on building their local reputation and having an impact on the local community ‘by offering a first class service with products that are attractive to [their] clients.’ Lawrence insists that there are not many differences between retail banks in the product suite that they offer ‘so the emphasis will be on good customer service’. He adds, ‘within our bank we have a large element of expertise regarding the local market. Most of our staff have been in banking for a long time and that will no doubt help in assessing our clients needs and being able to service them in a better way.’ Although they are the majority shareholder, there will not be any direct Government intervention in the running of the bank. The bank was initiated by the administration but they stepped into the

buildings in Gibraltar having been used once upon a time as a Garrison to hold ammunition. Much of the original stonework remains, tying in impeccably with the new modern twist and the bank’s flagship black and red colouring. The team will operate from the premises as Ince’s House A unique property, the Government from now. obtained the Ince’s House location and developed it with the bank’s vision Interested parties can still apply for an acin mind. Project Manager Carl Viagas count at the Gibraltar International Bank via previously worked on the newly refur- www.gibintbankdco.gi. bished Law Courts and is currently at the forefront of the Upper Town Renewal Project. The property is one of the oldest background once an independent board was formed and the CEO and COO were brought on board. They were however, instrumental in obtaining the premises for the bank, at Ince’s House

Senior Management Team: Keith Pratts – Head of IT, Anna Ferro – Head of Front Office, Richard Chellaram – Chief Financial Officer, Lawrence Podesta – Chief Executive Officer, Derek Sene – Chief Operating Officer, Lynne Zammit – Head of Operations, Gerald Danino – Head of Relationship Teams, Kathy Castle – HR Manager and PA to the CEO & COO, Mark Dellipiani – Chief Risk Officer GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

The role of emotions in residential property investing Unlike many other financial assets, property is something we all think we understand. At some point in our lives, most of us buy a home. It can, therefore, seem like a short leap to investing in property purely for financial gain. But, while property investment may seem more tangible than other financial products, it is by no means simple. Residential property has a special place in private investors’ hearts, as well as their portfolios. Buyers tend to have an emotional connection with their house, even if it is not their principal residence. It is seldom treated simply as a financial asset: elements of lifestyle play a significant role in the decision-making. Direct residential property has many characteristics that set it apart from more traditional asset classes. For many, it can be a very long-term investment that is measured over decades rather than years. It is tangible and its permanence offers a perceived security that may be lacking with other asset classes. But there is always a danger with property investment that the heart can rule the head. Emotions can get in the way of sound decision-making, leading investors to overpay for assets or take on excessive debt to buy

what is a highly concentrated, illiquid, indivisible asset. A property investor may be inclined to buy in an area that they personally like, but this may not make for a good investment. The unshakeable rule maintained by the best property investors is never to fall in love with an asset, but this is an unreasonably narrow financial perspective when buying not just a house, but a home. There are other challenges to holding residential property. The real estate market is an inefficient one, with low price transparency, illiquidity and high transaction costs. Property is also harder to offload than the traditional asset classes. While housing can offer a great return, this return often isn’t financial. The financial returns of property – after accounting for transaction costs, taxes, maintenance, insurance etc. – are usually considerably less than what the headline house-price rises imply. Enjoy-

ment, comfort, and lifestyle are fundamentally what housing is for and, on these, it delivers very well. But just because we need emotional satisfaction from our home, doesn’t mean we should overpay for it. By all means, fall in love with your home, but try to let your head do most of the negotiating. Enjoyment, like anything, can be attained expensively, or efficiently.

Stephen Ball Relationship Manager, Barclays in Gibraltar Stephen Ball holds a portfolio of intermediary clients focusing on e-gaming, insurance and some larger multi-national corporate and international trading companies. Stephen joined Barclays in Gibraltar in 2011, having previously been a member of the Commercial Property and Securitisation team at Barclays Capital in Canary Wharf, London since 2005.

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

The role of a property manager is extremely varied. As well as dealing with replacement items, repairing faults and ensuring smooth check ins and check outs every now and again a situation arises that simply isn’t routine and no amount of photographic evidence can help you prepare for what you may find behind a rented property door.

Dragon’s Den

It was a hot July day when we received the email from an owner to give us permission to enter their property. We suspected the tenants had left without a forwarding address and we had been unable to contact them for some time. We knocked on the door. No answer. We opened the door slowly, calling out in case the tenants were at home. Nothing. The hall lights were on, strange? There was clean clothing hung up to dry in the living room. Odd? The fridge was full of food. It was as if the tenant had simply disappeared. We moved slowly from room to room trying to work out if they had indeed left for good. Suddenly my colleague ran out of a bedroom, “oh my god, you don’t want to see what is in there!” I could feel my heart pounding, I thought this is it, someone has died, prepare yourself. With a deep breath I entered the room. At first I couldn’t see anything, just kid’s stuff. Then I noticed him, not moving. Grey, no colour to his skin. Then his eyes looked at me and I knew he was alive. Clinging to his rock with no light, water, or food was a young bearded dragon. I knew then, that we could not leave him there alone to die.

After permission was granted by the landlord to rescue him, we took him home. He was dehydrated but once he was fed and watered and a new basking light in place he started to recover. Not knowing how long he had been left we named him Rocky because we knew he was a survivor! Today he’s the family pet, alive, well and strong.

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GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

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How About those May Bank Holidays..? Everybody knows and looks forward to the two bank holidays at the end of April and beginning of May. Summer’s just on the cusp of appearing beyond the levanter cloud and a day of entertainment in Casemates Square, even catering to the kids, is perhaps the perfect way to spend your time off… but what exactly are we commemorating on these bank holidays? The 28th of April marks ‘Worker’s Memorial Day’, which is commemorated around the World, pays homage to all those individuals that have died whilst discharging their duties at work, particularly those whose deaths could have been avoided. The memorial service, carried out each year in Gibraltar’s Parliament Lobby, is organised by Unite the Union who also put together the celebrations for May Day.

Government, a public holiday was once again reinstated as a day off. At present, ceremonial wreathes are laid in the parliament lobby for all of those who have died whilst discharging their work roles both locally and internationally.

As for May Day, Unite’s rally and day of entertainment in Casemates Square celebrates ‘International Worker’s Day’, marking the rights and aspirations of the working classes across the World.

When questioned on the significance behind April 28th, Unite representatives explained that lessons are drawn from the tragic events of workers’ deaths in order to champion causes like increased workplace safety. On this day Gibraltar remembers the recent deaths of Pedro Zambrana Lopez and Jose Luis Gomez Garcia who sustained serious burns and a major fall during the Nature Group tank explosion in 2011 and whilst working on the Waterport Terraces construction site. ‘When somebody dies at work, they are not the only victim and it is in these times that thoughts are spared for both the victims and their families who have to pick up the pieces following a death at work,’ Chairman of Unite the Union, Louis Gonzalez insists. He adds that the importance of celebrating these events is ‘to make our community conscious of the struggles of the past and the sacrifices undertaken by the many that have died for all of us to enjoy luxuries that some take for granted.’ The day was not honoured by a public holiday for some time. When the current administration took up their position in

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weekend. Unite was against the relocation of the date and continued to host their own small celebration on the 1st in John Mackintosh Square. The holiday was returned to its original date when the GSLP/ Liberals entered Government in late 2011. This, Unite claims, proved their commitment to the Union and the working class as a whole. A cultural event was also initiated ‘in order for our community to share in the event and enjoy it with their comrades and families’. In the 70s, 80s and 90s children would be offered free cinema tickets at the former Queen’s Cinema to allow their parents to take part in the political rally. With Unite claiming to be the only staunch defender of International Worker’s Day they believe it was only right and fitting for them to lead the festivities. Held in part with the Ministry for Culture, Gibraltar was this year treated to performances by X Factor Season 10 winner Sam Bailey and local favourites Jetstream and Headwires. The rally addressed the provision of the private sector pensions, a matter that is already being discussed between the Union and the Government. They also discussed ‘the creation of a more equitable public sector human resources infrastructure that at present does not cater for the wider public sector efficiently.’

The 1st May was the chosen by a group of delegates of various socialist and labour parties from 20 different countries, called the Second international in 1889, in order to commemorate the Haymarket Massacre of 1886 in Chicago. On that event, whilst striking for an 8-hour working day, police fired upon the strikers killing four as a consequence of an unidentified person detonating an explosive. The day was also formerly used to pursue and achieve the demands of the working people. International Worker’s Day has had a decent affect on Gibraltar, with it marking the industrial action Unite took against the Ministry of Defence when they combatted the privatization of their workforce. When Unite made a call to the people of Gibraltar, a robust and resounding turnout of almost 14,000 backed the cause. Returning to May 1st The history of the celebration of May Day in Gibraltar is a chequered one. For some time the holiday was not celebrated on May 1st, but instead was pushed to the first Monday in May to allow for a long GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Unite will continue to back the two days of commemoration, with the mantra that it is ‘important that the aspirations of the working class are highlighted and that the historic style of trade unionism is rebranded and redirected to cater to the needs of the present.’

May Day around the World… Did You Know? - In many cultures the 1st of May is celebrated as a Spring Festival, originally meant to honour Flora the Roman goddess of flowers. It also served in many cultures as the unofficial first day of Summer. - May Day is also part of the German’s celebration of Walpurgisnacht on April 30th, paying tribute to 8th century English missionary Saint Walpurga. The night is commemorated in a host of European countries including Germany, Sweden, Finland and Estonia, involving bonfires and dancing. - Sweden’s celebration of ‘Valborgsmässoafton’ has less to do with the religious context and more to do with marking the arrival of Spring with huge bonfires, singing and spraying champagne. - Traditional English May Day celebrations include the ever British Morris dancing, dancing around the May pole and crowning a May Queen. The tradition is very reminiscent of former Anglo-Saxon and Celtic customs. The UK marks the holiday on the first Monday of the month. 45

A Caribbean Love Story: Destination Unknown

words | Andrea Morton Forde

30th July 1940. Maria’s writings mention her mother talking about spending four terrifying years in London with her younger children who later told the story of their mother bathing them at night, and putting them to bed fully dressed. She would sit by the fire and crochet, waiting to wake them if the sirens were sounded so they could run to the bomb shelters.

75 years ago this month thousands of Gibraltarians began to pack their suitcases and say goodbye to family and friends as they set sail for evacuation to Morocco. The Second World War had begun eight months earlier on 1st September 1939 with Germany’s invasion of Poland, and the garrison of Gibraltar was considered no place for its non-essential civilian population. The evacuation, first to Morocco followed by re-evacuation to London, Jamaica, Madeira and Northern Ireland, changed Gibraltar’s civilian population — for many it drew them together as a community, for others it started them on a life adventure which would lead them forever far from their beloved Rock. One such evacuee who found love and a new life on a far flung island was Maria (Mary) Martina Orfila. Here is her story.

The family had been tragically separated, as were so many at that time. Maria and sister Magdalena stayed in Gibraltar with their father, working as telephone operators. In mid June 1940, Maria became very ill and had to be hospitalised. Bedridden she recalled seeing bombs dropping past her window but could not move, instead having to wait for someone to take her to the shelter. Many times she was the last one in the ward and described it as terrifying. Finally the government ordered all civilians to leave Gibraltar and on 30th October 1940, 394 of the evacuees left aboard a passenger ship Thysville for a destination unknown — Maria, Magdalena, and their father Albert were among them, leaving their home at 5 Cumberland Road for a destination unknown. Maria remembered many prayers and rosaries being said on that ship, especially at night, as they set sail across the Altantic.

Many of the evacuees slept on Maria’s happy and carefree existence deck when the ship was in darkness changed in 1940 shortly after war broke during the long Atlantic crossing. out. The British Government’s decision Due to her illness, Maria was put to enforce mass evacuation of its then in a first class cabin and the captain Crown Colony, meant about 13,500 and crew treated her well, carrying evacuees were shipped to Casablanca in her to the top deck every day to French Morocco. Among the first batch get fresh air and sunshine. Albert of evacuees were Maria’s mother, brothOrfila worked in the ship’s kitchen ers Luis, Charles, Joseph and sister Lucy. during the voyage. However, following the capitulation of the French to the Germans just weeks Around two weeks into the journey the later in June 1940 the evacuees were evacuees were finally told their destinaforced to return to Gibraltar. Born in Gibraltar on 19th July, 1921, tion was the tropical island of Jamaica in Maria was the daughter of Albert and the West Indies. By this point few cared Maria’s mother’s group was, ironicalJosephine Orfila. “Albert was in the and fewer still knew anything of Jamaica. British Army and Maria,” Janette says, ly, eventually shipped to England during “had a very carefree and easy-going na- the height of the Blitz aboard Dromore An article written by Father Feeney ture, and was extremely kind and loved Castle which formed part of the largest single convoy of 12 ships departing on of St. George’s College, Jamaica, in 1989 by everyone.” “The story of how our parents, Maria and Oswald, met is quite remarkable and a part of our history we will cherish forever,” says daughter Janette Best from her home in Canada. “In anticipation of our upcoming visit to our mother’s homeland in May, my brother, Fabian, and I could not help think about the profound influence the WWII evacuation of Gibraltar’s civilians had on my mother’s family and, in turn, ours,” she adds.

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recounts how the campus was chosen. In 1940 Jamaica’s Governor, Arthur Richards, arrived at the residence of the Jesuits in charge of St. George’s College, looking for the head of the Catholic Church (Bishop Thomas Emmett). He presented a letter addressed to himself and signed by the Governor or Gibraltar and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Gibraltar. It said: “We are sending 9000 evacuees to Jamaica for the duration of the war and we are asking the Catholic authorities in Jamaica to oversee the religious, educational and social aspects of this new community”. Great Britain would build the camp, which eventually housed around 2000 Gibraltar evacuees. On docking in Jamaica, Maria was transported to a hospital while the others went to the Kingston campus. There, the evacuees were confronted with a huge enclosed campus of partitioned wooden huts which became their home for the next four years. Unpainted and numbered 1-120 the huts were situated on about 250 acres of land with 112 barracks each built for about 60 people. Each hut was 150 feet (46m) long and 25 feet (7.5m) wide with a veranda running its length. There was an internal corridor down the centre of each building, giving access to the rooms. Each room, originally intended to accommodate two people, contained two army cots, two chairs and a table.

Oswald and Maria taken on their anniversary in Jamaica GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

A large sanitary block for washing and Religion was an important element of laundry was situated between each row their life in Jamaica. The compound’s of barracks. church had a beautiful altar, an enclosure for the choir, and held a congregation of 300. A convent, built at the entrance Meals were mostly a communal to the campus, housed eight nuns who affair in two open-sided dining stayed for the duration of the camp. rooms with wooden tables and benches. Children received a steady education The evacuees were given three meals in four huts converted into a school each day and plenty of it. Some were with Sister Mary Zavier, OSF in charge. sent money from Gibraltar so bought Leisure for the children included exfood and cooked their own meals from cursions to Hope Botanical Gardens, time to time. Maria said the food was the beach, swimming pool and hiking not bad but many days some were not in the mountains. There were also boy pleased resulting in riots in the dining scouts, girl guides, rangers, and sea room — Maria’s father would often be scouts to keep youngsters busy. Sports involved in these riots and had to be such as football, cricket and tennis were popular and teams from schools outside detained to calm him. the campus came for competitions. A

few senior students were sent to outside colleges and some of the camp’s young men joined the Jamaican armed forces. Music and the arts thrived in the community. A building named Multy Hall became the dramatic arts centre as well as the locale for conferences and seminars. Plays were staged there and Sister Philomena RSN adapted and presented several musicals with great success. Each Friday a film was shown for free. All these were paid for and maintained by Great Britain. There was a library, a reading room and a club called “The Calpe” plus a Protestant chapel. There was a weekly newspaper called the Catholic Opinion in which activities of the church and other groups were recorded. Four huts were converted into a hospital and it was here that Maria’s sister Magdalena and six other girls were encouraged to pursue studies in nursing at the Kingston Public Hospital. It took them four years to complete their studies and all passed and graduated before leaving the island to return to Gibraltar.

Queen’s Elizabeth’s visit to Jamaica in her coronation year with Maria, Oswald, Janette and her cousins Neil and Francis. Maria was pregnant with Fabian at the time “He had his eyes on me from the first day he saw me,” Maria chuckled. “In those days they called it love at first sight.”

The couple was married on 5th July, 1944, Magdalena Orfila and Oswald’s While Magdalena worked and studied, brother Victor Best were witnesses. Maria was confined to a hospital for almost four years. It was during that time After the war, Albert and Magdalena that Maria met Oswald, “Ossie”. Ossie return to Gibraltar to reunite with Josewas attending St. George’s College and phine and the family who had returned also worked as a telephone operator at from England, while Maria adjusted to the sanatorium. By chance, Oswald’s life in Jamaica, living with a new husschool chum asked him to help write band and his parents. Saying goodbye a love letter to a beautiful young lady to her father and sister was a very painful he wished to woo. Oswald insisted on for Maria and, though truly loved by the seeing her before writing the letter but entire family in Jamaica, she longed to be once he set eyes on Maria it was clear the home with her own family in Gibraltar. letter would be from him, not the friend! The couple’s first child, Janette, was born in 1948 and was about a year old when Oswald first brought the family to Gibraltar. “It was a wonderful time for my mother seeing her family for the first time after the war,” Janette remembers. “At that time dad was still working at the hospital in Jamaica and had to return to Kingston. My mother and I stayed on in Gibraltar for a year. Eventually my father returned to Gibraltar to bring us back, and although she was reluctant at first, our mother had such a deep love for my father, she returned to live in Jamaica. In1953 my brother Fabian Albert was born (named Fabian after dad’s brother

who passed aged 12) and Albert (mother’s father).” Oswald Aloyisius Best, was one of nine children born to Augustus and Evelyn Best in Kingston, Jamaica on 12th June, 1922. He attended St. George’s College and was passionate about soccer and interested in working in the medical field. He started working at Kingston General Hospital at age 17 in the lab and worked there until 1967. “Dad was very imaginative, funny, caring and loved to tell stories,” Janette fondly recalls. “He loved to build things and was especially fond of anything electronic. He made friends easily, many were very close and from all walks of life. He could always count on any of them at any time. He made our lives interesting and fun and was always there when you needed anything. We certainly led a charmed life as kids, never having to worry about anything.” Ossie loved to travel and wanted his children to see as much of the world as possible. Janette’s first time on an airplane was age nine when they went to visit family in Panama. In 1956 he went to Walter Reed Army Medical Centre near Washington, DC where he studied Basic Pathology, after which he continued working at the Pathology Department in the hospital in GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

“Once I started working and making new friends, some of them also Jamaicans whose families immigrated in the 1960s, life was good.”

Kingston. “He built their first Pathology museum, a tiny office we used to visit (not too often),” Janette smiles. “Mother taught English to the Latin American teenage girls who boarded at the convent school I attended. They loved her so much they refused to stay at the convent and begged their families to have them live with us. We grew up with at least four or five teenage girls living in our house going to school.”

“We made several trips to Gibraltar when mother’s sister was still alive,” Janette recalls. “I still holiday in Jamaica almost every year, but Canada is now home. We will always remember and cherish our Gibraltar roots and how our family made its journey. Thanks to our father, who loved photography, we have hundreds of family photographs to remind us all of the most precious time in our lives.”

Another twist to this family’s tale came when the Jamaican political climate began to change in the ’60s (Jamaica gained independence from Britain on 6th August 1962). “Our parents were seriously considering moving, although at the time neither my brother or I were aware of this. In fact, after I graduated in 1965 there was talk of going on a long trip and it was a total surprise to us that we were actually moving to Canada.” The family emigrated in the summer of 1967. “We were to learn later that our father had applied to several universities in Canada for jobs and probably attended several interviews when we were on ‘vacation’ in Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal,” Janette adds. He was offered jobs at all three universities but decided on

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the University of Toronto because someone told him it was warmer in Toronto! “Of course, during the first few months in this new country we found it difficult to adjust,” says Janette. “Fabian was ill, broke out in hives and had to be treated. Once he made some new friends he was much better. One of his class mates living on our street was assigned by the principal to look after him. They walked together to and from school for the first three months of the first semester. Fabian later attended college and joined the Canadian Armed Forces.

Gibraltarian Maria Martina Orfila died in Canada on 3rd September 2007, 18 years earlier Oswald had passed in November, 1989 following a long illness which left him hospitalised for several years. Their son Fabian and daughter Janette (with husband David) will visit Gibraltar this month, exactly 75 years after Maria boarded a ship to destination unknown. On 22nd-23rd May 2015, HM Government of Gibraltar plans to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the evacuations of Gibraltar’s civilian population with a series of special events. Thank you to Debbie and Pete for the two photographs of the memorials.

The Gibraltarian who joined hands around the Rock words | Mike Brufal

Lionel Perez, aged 79, is multi-talented and throughout his life has been a sportsman, undergraduate, trade unionist, teacher, director and producer of plays for the theatre and director and producer of dance entertainment, artist and collector of carved walking sticks. Lionel was born in a house in 11 Benzimra’s Alley, which by incredible coincidence is opposite the house in which he now lives. This is called Shephan House after his two grand daughters, using the last syllable in each Christian name. He has been married to Liliana Guillem for 53 years and they have a daughter, Suyenne, and two grandchildren, Shelbey and Stephan. All his years during the evacuation were spent in the Royal Palace Hotel, Kensington, the largest hotel in which Gibraltarians were billeted. Father Azzopardi read Mass in the hotel. He once saw Archbishop Peter Amigo during one of Archbishop’s regular visits to see his fellow Gibraltarians. The last five weeks of evacuation, for a reason that was never explained, possibly due the appearance of the V bomber over London, were spent in Northern Ireland. When the family returned to the Rock they were fortunate that Lionel’s father had spent the entire war in the family house so they did not have to be re-housed and wait for those billeted in the family home to leave. He was educated at the Sacred Heart Convent, Hammersmith followed by the London Oratory school. Upon his return home he was sent to the Sacred Heart School where all the teachers, except for the legendary Miss Undery, were servicemen. He moved to Castle Road school and then back to the Sacred Heart. The 12 plus was passed and he went on to the Grammar School at Plata Villa where Brother Foley was headmaster and his French teacher was Brother Brennan. The academic year was moved to

start in January rather than September. He remembers Brother D’Arcy leaving to take a sabbatical and returning to take over as headmaster. Later Brother D’Arcy went to Liberia where he joined Brother Arthur Chincotta in the Christian Brothers School. Brother ‘Tito’ Chincotta went on to become the headmaster of St Edward’s school, Liverpool, having spent 28 years in Liberia and other countries in Africa. He is now enjoying a well earned retirement. Lionel was more sportsman than academic, enjoying first team hockey and squash, and then playing for the Grammarians Hockey Club many years after leaving school. In his year the Gibraltar Government scholarship went to Alex Dellipiani and due to a need for doctors two Mackintosh scholarships were awarded for medicine and these went to Cecil and Victor Montegriffo. National Service in the Gibraltar Regiment was decidedly easy and for much of the six months rather than doing the quite tedious military training, Lionel played waterpolo for the Royal Artillery Regiment.

his way back to Gibraltar for Christmas. The letter was received by his aunt at his address in London but she never opened the letter and sent it back advising that ‘he no longer lived at this address.’ Failure to report on the required date resulted in him being banned from returning to the United Kingdom for three years, which meant he could not resume his undergraduate studies even though he had finished twelve months at Cardiff University. He re-joined Cory Bros in Gibraltar for a further twelve months and was subsequently employed by Blands for seven months. It so happened that John Martinez joined the Colours but was discharged after three months as the Suez war only lasted six days. One collateral casualty of Anthony Eden’s Suez war was Lionel not obtaining his degree in accountancy. Liptons Ltd offered him a job as an accountant as the year spent at Cardiff University was deemed sufficient to qualify him for this position. He spent two years with the store where he learned a great deal about retailing.

His first job was at Cory Bros as a shipping clerk and after two years he Suddenly, he had a damascene was sent to Cardiff University to train moment when he decided he wantfor Company Secretary qualifications. ed to move on and teach. This was This was cut short by the Suez War as he due to the influence of his then was called up as a gunner. Along with girlfriend, now wife, who was a John Martinez who had joined British teacher herself. Airways; the men acted as reservists. Lionel never joined the Colours as the day Due to the departure of the Christian the call up papers were poste he was on Brothers and the Nuns there was a GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Lionel Perez

shortage of teachers on the Rock. Lionel was given the position of an unqualified teacher for three years, starting at St Jago’s School before going to train at St Mary’s College, Strawberry Hill and returning to Gibraltar in 1963-66 as a qualified teacher. At St Mary’s he was the first Gibraltarian to join the committee of the Students’ Union for three consecutive years, in his last year he was elected Vice President. Lionel was awarded College Colours for hockey. Prior to his arrival there had been an average of 3 Gibraltarian students a year and during his three years the numbers increased to 17 a year. This was due to the Gibraltar Government realising that there was an urgent need for teachers and so the number of scholarships was dramatically increased through support by Commonwealth Scholarships. Not all Gibraltarians males were sent to St Mary’s as a number went to Hopwood Hall, Manchester. This was done arbitrarily with the students having no say about which teacher training college they would be sent to. In his final year his thesis was on ‘Moorish architecture in Gibraltar and Southern Spain’.

In 1970, after teaching for two years at the Lourdes School, Lionel was elected President of the Teachers’ Union. At that time there was a substantial pay differential between teachers sent out from England and those recruited locally. When the fight for parity commenced Lionel, as President of the Union, assisted by Adolfo Canapa and Maurice Xiberras, led the teachers into battle with management. After a long struggle they won and henceforth there was no distinction between the teachers recruited locally and those from England. The move to the comprehensive education system took time to plan and implement. This meant the abolition of all secondary schools and the Grammar school. Due to the insistence of Bishop John Farmer Healey, who was resolutely opposed to mixed schools, the comprehensive system did not follow the pattern in the Mother Country and instead had separate schools – Bayside for boys and Westside for girls. This system remains in place today. However, Lionel convinced the Education Board to have mixed sexes in First and Primary schools much to the Bishop’s disappointment. Lionel taught History and Art at Bayside and a large number of art teachers over the past few decades have been his pupils. As an artist he has never painted professionally and never exhibited but has painted ten pictures to give as wedding presents.

At the age of 37 he was sent to New York University to read a Master’s degree in theatre art. This covered every aspect of the theatre from carpentry, lighting and costume to stage scaffolding. He returned to Gibraltar at aged 40 and from there developed his love for the theatre. He resumed teaching Art but spent the majority of St Mary’s University College was time working with the drama faculgranted full university title by the Privy ty. Lionel retired 25 years ago aged a Council on 23 January 2014. It was youthful 55. founded in 1850 and is the oldest Catholic University in the United Kingdom He considers his greatest contribution to Gibraltar to be the organisation of In 2007 Lionel was appointed a ‘The Hands around the Rock’ held on Fellow of St Mary’s University for the 4th August 2004. The event marked his contribution to education in the 300th anniversary of the capture of general and the support provided Gibraltar by Admiral Sir George Rooke. in liaising between Gibraltar and He and his hard working team organised the University. He is the only Gi17,000 Gibraltarians to hold hands and braltarian to be granted such an encircle the Rock. It widely covered in honour by an English University. the international media.

“Three hundred years ago Gibraltar became British and today its citizens and friends encircled the Rock to establish our identity as a nation. This let the world know that the Gibraltarians are a proud people, sharing our way of life in peace and harmony with all races and religions. This makes Gibraltar a City where friendship, respect for each other’s point of view and happiness is enjoyed by all”, Lionel explained to the 17,000+ individuals that participated in the event. A Love of the Theatre Interest in the theatre began at age 16 when he auditioned for a speaking part in a Shakespeare play that he failed to secure. Instead he painted scenery and made props including stage furniture, and was generally the odd job man behind the scenes, prepared to do whatever was required. It was not until he was at St Mary’s in 1963 that he decided to try his hand at producing a play. He produced and directed ‘Blood Wedding’ by Frederico Garcia Lorca. During his third year his production of Joan of Arc’s ‘The Lark’ by Jean Anouilh inaugurated the theatre at St Mary’s, which celebrated its fiftieth anniversary last year. Back on the Rock differences of opinion and artistic clashes prevented him from working with Group 56. Through typical Gibraltarian entrepreneurial values he decided to form his own theatrical group and started the Anouilh Players. None of the members came from any existing theatre groups. His first production was ‘The Lark’, performed in St Michael’s Cave. Sol Seruya was the then Minister of Tourism and he was keen for a play to be shown in the Cave. The challenge had been offered to other directors who had refused. Eric Howard took the lead and the play was a huge success. Lionel was able to solve the question of the dripping water onto the audience in the Cave by nailing fishing lines to the source of the drips and the water flowed down them into areas in which there were no seats. The Alpha Group put on nine productions, which included Jules Verne’s GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’, ‘Six wives of Henry V111’ by John C. Trewin and the 14th century play on the Crucifixion in Dance/Drama. Forty years ago Lionel took ‘Alpha Group’, the Dance section of the Anouilh Players, to the Aberdeen Festival. It was the first time any Dance Group had performed outside Gibraltar. The performance was hugely successful and greatly appreciated by the Aberdeen Council. During his career he directed ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ on three occasions. The first performance involved the Lourdes school in 1972, and was shown at the Alameda open air theatre, the second twenty years later, was by the Anouilh Players and the third, fifteen years later, was by the Alpha Group. The Anouilh Players first took part in the 1967 Drama Festival organised by the Royal Army Educational Corps. The Anouilh Players won many individual awards at various festivals, including Best Actress, Best Actor and the Festival Cup, on two occasions. Lionel also won the award for best original play. He remembers with pride Tony Loddo and Nicky Gurerrero winning the Best Actor award. Sir Joshua and Lady Hassan encouraged him to take part in the Drama Festival and so he did, with the help of such actors as Suyenne Perez, Douglas Cassaretto, Paul Linares and seven others. He was a pioneer on the Rock for mixing drama with dance. The idea was brought from England by Mario Arroyo, and Lionel took it up with enthusiasm. This encouraged the creation of the Alpha Group. In total he wrote, produced and directed eight Dance/Dramas.

His ‘Encircling the Rock’ movement is one of Lionel’s greatest achievements his aunt died she left one walking stick to his grandfather, one to his father and one to him. This was a young boy’s idea of a dream present. The collection is now at 205. Lionel considers a hand carved stick, from a single block of wood, by Douglas Ghio to be the best in the collection. Each stick is tagged, numbered and logged on a computer. This enables an immediate history of the stick to be given to any visitor who asks questions. He became involved with St Bernard’s Hospital in 1974 when he joined the committee of a group involved with heart rehabilitation. This has evolved into the Medical Patients’ Forum, which he is the Chairman of. He is also on the Hospital Ombudsman’s Committee.

Lionel owns the finest collection of walking sticks on the Rock and probably the whole of the Iberian Peninsular. His father worked in shipping and was given a silver walking stick as a wedding present by a ship’s Captain. When

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Lionel’s views of the future are forthright and provocative. He says “the educational facilities are excellent at A level for any pupil from whatever social background who is interested in learning, but, and this is a large but, I find that throughout the schools there is an acute discipline problem due to a lack of support from parents.”

He adds, ‘today there seems to be more enthusiasm for dance than drama. Since I left teaching there has been only one male drama teacher as opposed to three females. Drama remains at a high standard despite the diminishing numbers of those interested in taking part. ‘Art is flourishing as Gibraltarian students respond to art more than their counterparts in England. At the last count there were 129 artists to have submitted work at different exhibitions.’ “Gibraltar is gifted with talented individuals in many fields. However, we are losing to the computer and other electronic wizardry, the experience of our elders, both male and female. The present leaders forget this fact and usually fail to seek guidance from the experience of the previous generations. I think that the under fifties should talk less, listen to their elders and also ask them their views on the present problems.“ ‘Apart from this I think Gibraltar remains on a winning streak and its multiculturalism is an example to all countries. It also houses a remarkable amount of talent.’

Government Honours World War Two Evacuation Anniversary On May 22nd Gibraltar will mark the 75th anniversary of the sailing of the first evacuation vessel during the Second World War. The decision to evacuate women, children, the elderly and infirm followed the outbreak of the war in 1945. Between May and June 13495 evacuees were sent to camps and other accommodation in French Morocco. Following this they were re-evacuated back to Gibraltar and then to Madeira, Jamaica, London and Northern Ireland.

In commemoration of the event the Government Archives have initiated a website for former evacuees to register and tell their story. Over 400 people have already registered to participate in a host of commemorative events that will include an exhibition of photographs relating to the evacuation and a booklet containing photographs and narrative of events as they unfolded. This will be produced and distributed around Gibraltar. The schedule also consists of a short film and a memorial service at the evacuation roundabout along Waterport Road.

Deputy Chief Minister and Historian by profession, Dr. Joseph Garcia, explained the Government’s wishes to honour ‘the sacrifice made by those evacuees who are still alive, and to honour the memory of those who are no longer with us.’ He further commented that ‘the whole episode drove home to the people of Gibraltar the little control that they had over their own affairs and it served as a spur to the demand for greater political and constitutional reform which followed.’

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NEVER PUT OFF YOUR TROUSERS IN GIBRALTAR

words | Reg Reynolds

The above is one of the oddest and funniest signals ever sent by a ship from one country’s navy to another. It came about as a result of a wild party of naval officers held at Gibraltar in the summer of 1966. HMS Galatea was a Leander-class frigate under the command of Captain Henry Leach* and was representing the Royal Navy during a NATO exercise in the Mediterranean involving ships from Holland, Belgium, France and Turkey. With the exercise successfully completed the officers of the Dutch submarine HNLMS Zeeleeuw and the Galatea gathered for a party at an unnamed club near the docks. Captain Leach described the goings on in his book Endure No Makeshifts: Some Naval Recollections (Pen and Sword 1993): “There they [Galtea’s officers] were soon joined by the rest of the submarine’s officers ...and an active session of drinking and party games ensued. By about 0400 exhaustion began to take hold and the final competition was enacted. Its rules were basic and considerably tempered by wine, the principle element being the forceful removal of trousers of all present. With fond farewells and exaggerated expressions of goodwill the party broke up and the visitors returned to their own ships.” It was a warm night and as the Galatea was moored only about 100 yards from the club one officer, Lt. Commander Julian Howard, didn’t bother putting his trousers back on. Unfortunately, he would only have a few hours to sleep off the booze as he had to be on deck by 0630 to give orders for the day. Poor Howard

was rudely awakened with a shout, pair of large trousers. The return signal “Five minutes to hands fall in sir.” settled what Leach termed “this international incident”: In his book Leach wrote: “Scrambling out of his bunk he flung on shirt, scarf, trousers, monkey jacket and shoes and went on deck. Too late, he realised there was something odd about his trousers; they seemed to hang in endless folds around his ankles and their extreme bagginess impeded his every movement. But by now he was facing all the seamen, waiting for him to detail them off for work. Oh why had he cut it so fine in turning out and how would he ever live it down.”

“An inquiry among the wardroom members resulted in finding somebody who had experienced great difficulty to get in his trousers each morning. As he refused to reveal where he got his trousers from we are not quite sure these trousers enclosed are the ones you are missing. The person in fact was not interested in the considerable large trousers you received. So an exchange will not be necessary.”

“A good advice may be useful for the next time: never put off your Obviously Howard had picked up the trousers in Gibraltar.” wrong trousers and some Lieutenant aboard the Dutch sub was undoubtedly trying to fit into some very tight pants. It would be a good bet that Lt. ComDuly a signal was sent to the Zeeleeuw mander Howard heeded that advice for enquiring if some officer had lost a the remainder of his career.

*Note: Sir Henry Conyers Leach attained the rank of Admiral of the Fleet. As First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff during the early 1980s, he was instrumental in convincing Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher that retaking the Falkland Islands from Argentina was feasible. On account of the determination he showed in the matter, journalist and political commentator Andrew Marr described him as Thatcher’s “knight in shining gold braid”. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

CORNISH POET FIRST PUBLISHED IN GIBRALTAR words | Reg Reynolds

Charles Causley cherished his home county of Cornwall and lived almost his entire life there. He also spent a few years during World War II in Gibraltar, where his first poem was published in The Rock magazine. With the rank of Coder in the Royal Navy, Causley first arrived at Gibraltar in August 1940 aboard the corvette HMS Marigold. The 22-year-old landlubber suffered debilitating sea-sickness throughout the voyage from England, and on finally anchoring off the Rock described himself as, “unwashed, unshaven, dirty, thin, wild, haggard – a horrid sketch of Mother’s little boy.” After being seen by a naval doctor, Causley was given pills and assigned to a larger ship – the destroyer HMS Eclipse *. He described his first impression of Gibraltar as “...brown mountains & (Causley frequently used ampersands in his writing) white square houses dotted on them. The town itself at first dull, silent & oppressive. There is a crouched air of tenseness hanging over the whole place, & in the narrow streets the smell of tobacco smoke. In the chapel are regimental colours & a hand-blown organ. I kneel and say a prayer for Mother and home.” Once recovered from his illness Causley made the most of his time, swimming at Catalan Bay, which reminded him of a Cornish fishing village, eating oranges in the Alameda Gardens and smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee at Main Street cafes. But he also worried about the possibility of a German invasion. During his first years in the navy Causley kept a

diary and his notes are referenced in the biography All Cornwall Thunders at My Door by Laurence Green (The Cornovia Press 2013): “Gibraltar under threat of German invasion. I secretly worry in case the Navy evacuates Gib & I am one of a skeleton staff left behind, and my heart is heavy. I get mentally childish and think ‘Oh I want to see my Mother again.’”

“We appear as request men before the Capt. of the Cormorant. When my name is called I double smartly up, slip on the wet deck and land in a heap at the foot of the Captain’s table. I pick myself up, scarlet, and don’t know whether to say ‘Sorry’ or what. Anyway, I salute shakily & stand in great agony of suppressed nervous laughter, biting my lip...”

Despite all the activity in Gibraltar, Causley’s thoughts were never far from Fortunately the invasion never hap- home in Cornwall as is clear in his first pened and Causley became involved in poem, The Bridge at Bramble Park, pubentertaining the troops, playing the pia- lished in The Rock in August of 1941: no at concerts, performing on Gibraltar Radio, and writing I know a bridge among familiar trees and acting in his own play That lean in youthful concert with a brook titled Benedict. His hometown And here, hair ruffled by a friendly breeze, newspaper reported;

Long have I sat or lingered with a book Heard & half heard the singing of a stream, The tune that small birds tongue, the drowsy bee The branches rustling in a long green dream And the church clock chime its eternal three, Watched the slim heron on a paper sky, The fish flash at a shadow, and anew All this is one - the stream, the fields & I – And peace comes dropping the whole valley through

“Local author at Gibraltar – The Gibraltar Chronicle of January 29th, contains an account of the production by the Gibraltar Dramatic Society, of Benedict, a one act play by Coder Charles Causley RN, of Launceston. Particular There are wild bells of thought within my brain interest was attached to That ring me to that bridge, that brook, again. the performance because for the first time the author Biographer, Green, noted that the himself played the leading part. Our poem was very much an example of congratulations to the author.” ‘home thoughts from abroad’. Causley was given home leave in 1942 Causley was slack in obtaining his coder qualifications and was told off but promoted to Petty Officer and repostfor teaching himself Spanish when he ed to Gibraltar in 1943. In 1945 he was should have been reading his code assigned to the new aircraft carrier HMS books. But he and a friend finally quali- Glory and sent off for the anticipated invasion of Japan. But the atomic bombs fied on March 19th, 1941. were dropped, and instead Causley

*Note: On 24 October 1943 Eclipse hit a mine off the coast of Turkey in the Aegean Sea. She broke in two and sank within five minutes with the loss of 119 of the ship’s company and 134 soldiers from A Company, 4th Battalion, Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment).

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witnessed the surrender of the Japanese forces in the Southwest Pacific. He was ecstatic to be de-mobbed in 1946 and able to return to his beloved Cornwall. Of his naval career he later wrote: “I disliked life in the Royal Navy, and my sole ambition was, if possible, to emerge in one piece. I spent almost six years in its salt and hairy grasp, and it was an experience I could well have done without.”

“His work fell outside the main poetic trends of the 20th century, drawing instead on native sources of inspiration: folk songs, hymns, and above all, ballads. His poetry was recognised by the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 1967 and a Cholmondeley Award in 1971. In addition to these public honours, the clarity and formality of his poetry has won Causley a popular readership, making him, in the words of Ted Hughes, one of the ‘best loved and most needed’ poets of the last fifty years”.

Charles Stanley Causley was born August 24th, 1917 at Launceston in Cornwall and was educated there and in One example of Causley’s work ,inPeterborough. He was greatly affected by the lingering death of his Father in 1924 spired by his Gibraltar days, is the poem from long-standing injuries suffered in Conversation in Gibraltar: the First World War. He had to leave school at 15 to earn a living, working as We sit here, talking of Barea and Lorca an office boy during his early years. He Meeting the iron eye of the Spanish clock. later worked as a teacher and writer. We have cut, with steel bows, the jungle of salt-water, Causley died on November 4th, 2003, Sustaining the variable sea-fevers of home and women, aged 86, and is buried in St Thomas To walk the blazing ravine Churchyard at Launceston. Of the profitable Rock. The website Poetry Archive writes:

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Rain’s vague infantry, the Levant, parachutes on the stone lion And soon, soon, under our feet and the thin steel deck We shall be conscious of miles of perpendicular sea And Admiralty weather.

Not a Loner – The Story Behind Alfred Parody

words | Richard Cartwright

“I attended the Gibraltar Grammar School and at 16 got thrown out by the Christian Brother headmaster over some silly thing. My mother wouldn’t have it: she confronted the man and managed to get me back in. I guess you could call it a `face saving’ exercise because in exchange, I had to promise to attend no less than seven processions...I reluctantly accepted and returned to school!”

Alfred reflects back on his time in Israel

`The guy is a useful nut!’ is how he was once labelled. Others, as I did, may have perceived him as a `loner.’ However, he describes himself as an `individualist!’ A `loner’, he says, ‘is someone who wallows in self-pity.’ He claims he’s kept disciplined with a sense of purpose, much of it thanks to his strong spiritual convictions! – These are the tales of Alfred Parody. Alfred, an only child, says his mother was also his friend and soul mate. In the 50s and 60s many fathers were stern looking individuals who never seemed to have much to say to their children, especially to their sons, so his maternal relationship blossomed right through to her passing. “My father was an engine fitter in the Naval Dockyard but was quite educated for a blue collar worker in those days. My mother however, was illiterate but very worldly and streetwise and I communicated much better with her and because of that our relationship developed.” Well despite his `grammar’ schooling, Alfred never went to university, which was not as common an occurrence as it is these days. Armed with a few GCEs (as they were then) he drifted from one clerical job to another, which was what he claims, `befitted a grammar school boy then.’ A period of compulsory training in the Gibraltar Regiment is de-

scribed by Alfred as, “a complete waste of time that didn’t do anything for me. By then my mother had died and I was on my way into deep depression. It was an illness that was stigmatised in those days so through inherent pride, I never went to see a doctor. Added to that, my mother was also an individualist and arrogant with it, so the idea of girl friends, who may have helped get me through this depression wasn’t a choice either because after being `inspected’ by my mother they simply didn’t come up to her standard but I did have one or two girlfriends for a while.” His dad died a couple of years later and Alfred liked living on his own. He did the drugs and psychic thing for a while which he didn’t like too much and recalls he was definitely on a slide... He packed his bags and off he went to Israel where he spent six months in a kibbutz learning Hebrew. “Now I know

I was meant to go there. Spending time there gave me a sense of discipline, of feeling positive and the experience even improved my hygiene. I was a changed person and going there had given me a new sense of purpose. I’d really found

Throughout his travels Alfred collected a host of memorabilia GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

myself and was basically put on the right track. I was also encouraged to join the IDF – Israeli Defence Force but declined because it would have meant giving up my faith in Jesus.” Alfred travelled some more going through Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Vienna, going on from there to hitch hike back to the Rock in the early 70s. Back in Gib he took up employment in the Post Office parcel store at Waterport – which happened to be where I also worked on my return to the Rock... “It was round about this time in 1973 that I found the Messiah and since then I’ve become a Pentecostal. I’m now living on a `victory walk’ with my relationship with God and getting better all the time.” Alfred tells me he attended an evangelical school in Catalonia in the north of Spain and spent some time as a missionary travelling to Morocco and Spain. “I still consider myself a true socialist and my religion with God keeps me going, developing a positive attitude in life. You have to learn to laugh at yourself and know who you are.” Living on his own now in the South District, Alfred leads a tranquil life taking it as it comes. He rises late morning then cooks, cleans and watches some television programmes, mainly football and the `GOD’ channels he tells me. “I’ve been put off marriage so that’s certainly not on the cards. Anyway I’m going to be 70 this year so it’s clearly out of the question.” As regards friends, like most of us, there’s only three or four he can count as true friends... “I feel more people are speaking to me these days but a few claim I’m a trouble maker and the odd one or two of those end up accepting me. Those are the ones that refer to me as a `useful nut’ and come to me for advice.” Recently our Mr Parody attended a school reunion where he found that some of his peers had not moved. He observed that he didn’t have too much in common with them nowadays, all have naturally gone their separate ways and those happy, halcyon, schoolboy days of long ago - enjoyable as they are to reminisce about - are well and truly in the past! So the perceived `loner’ is not lonely after all. He doesn’t indulge in self pity, but does enjoy his football, his food and living alone. As he claims, he is ‘out and about’ `living on a victory walk, accompanied by a real friend...His maker!’ GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Art aficionados in Gibraltar will be treated once more to an exhibition of the works of one of their favourite artists, James Foot, for two weeks from 5th May at the Fine Arts Gallery, Casemates. words | Andrea Morton Forde

James Foot: It is All in the Detail This exhibition will largely feature James’ paintings of Gibraltar and it promises to be exciting, offering different perspectives of familiar scenes. “I think as the years go by I am drawn to smaller and smaller details of the fabric of the place — doors, shutters, windows,” he explains. “Details often say more about a place than images of whole buildings or vistas, and Gibraltar is a place of surprising hidden corners.” Amongst all that focus on the fine detail, James has added an epic painting depicting the whole of Gibraltar, but again the beauty is in the detail. “Called ‘Leaving Gibraltar’ it is the first time I’ve ever attempted to paint the whole place,” he states. “I took a series of photographs as the plane circled and left last year and have used them as inspiration.”

am something of a self-taught watercolourist,” he explains. “It is something I started doing through travelling/ recording where I was. My London background is more of theatre — we had a theatre company in the 1980s there. At art school I did performance and theatre but nothing like the paintings I produce now.” Through is work on the Rock and his workshops James has inspired many other budding artists here to take up their brushes too, and he has plans to carry on his work in that regard. “I will do a more extensive workshop in Gibraltar in the future but this year will just do a couple of weekends with existing students. I’m having one of those years that happens in middle age when it is all about everyone else’s health and family bereavements so it is enough just to paint Those familiar with Gibraltar’s vibrant for the exhibitions this year.” art scene will know that James is no stranger to the Rock, but how does an James’ passion for watercolour and artist with no real connections here de- his expert use of the medium is an invelop such an affinity with our little bit spiration to many. “I love the clarity of of limestone perched at the edge of two the medium of watercolour, the fact that continents? “I came to Gibraltar origi- the colours mix ‘true’,” he enthuses. “I nally as an exhibiting painter, invited by begin with the shadows, construct the the then Director of the John Mackintosh painting with them and then use colour Hall who had seen an exhibition of mine at the end. They are all about recording in Tarifa,” James says taking us back to little moments in time, a little bit theatrithe beginning of his Rock love affair. “I cal in a way so probably my background didn’t know Gibraltar at all and exhibit- comes in here. Someone said in a show ed exclusively images of Morocco as I’d in Athens recently that my paintings been touring there. Being in Gibraltar I looked a bit like everyone had just left discovered it for myself, taking walks the stage. They do occasionally feature during breaks from the exhibition, and people though.” was immediately fascinated by the archiNot satisfied with his mastery of the tecture and detail of the place.” painted scene, James has recently taken to the written word and is writing Indeed, it is James’ keen observation a novel. “The novel is something I’ve and love of detail, which lead him to been thinking of for decades,” he says. his pallet and paints to start with. “I “‘I think it is probably a very painterly

use of words — it is essentially a murder mystery set in a small Greek village where everyone watches everyone else, thinking that they know everything about each other but ultimately don’t. I think it is very Greek in atmosphere, an idea of something lived perhaps in another life?” he muses. “It takes place in two different time periods and switches between the two, three decades apart. The actualities of Greece have changed a lot but the atmosphere hasn’t,” he adds. Finally I asked James for some advice for the beginner artist — what tips could he give away? “Start in the middle of the blank canvas! Work outwards towards the edges,” he states, adding; “Look at everything. Try to forget the specific subject and just draw the shapes and spaces between them you see. You’ll find you’ve almost magically reproduced what is in front of you. A little like reading music and playing piano…”

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European Champion 2014 Cailtin Rodriguez

Dancing to the Top –

Choosing Gibraltar’s National Team

Dance is almost certainly one of Gibraltar’s most well loved past times (sport or art form?... that’s an entirely separate debate). The Gibraltar National Dance Team has proved itself amongst the ranks of the highest rated countries in the world when it comes to dance, having brought home five gold medals from World and European Championships since the Gibraltar National Dance Organisation’s inception in 1981. Ranking in the realms of Slovenia, Russia, Canada, South Africa and the USA, who have millions of dancers to choose from to represent their country. HOSTING THE SHOW DANCE CHAMPIONSHIPS Gibraltar chooses its National Dance Team every year to give around twenty-five local dancers the opportunity to represent their country internationally amidst ‘high standards and fierce competition’. Directly behind the curtain, pulling the strings is President of the Gibraltar National Dance Organisation, Seamus Byrne. The Organisation is a non-profit entity that was approved by the Government over 30 years ago to GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

select the National Dance Team. Juggling a demanding position at the forefront of the Gibraltar Cultural Services, a young family and further volunteer work with MO Productions, his non-profit entity that organises the Gibraltar International Dance Festival, Seamus generally has a very full plate. Organising the IDO’s European Show Dance Championships in Gibraltar later this year piles an even heavier burden onto his back but he’s more than willing to suffer the pain if it means giving more dancers the oppor-

tunity to perform as part of the Gibraltar team. With finances limiting the team to taking small groups of dancers abroad to compete, hosting the Championship on the Rock allows for more than 150 dancers to participate. This will be the second year the European Championships are held in Gibraltar. Having organised it initially in 2011 with approximately five hundred dancers hosted, Seamus is striving to double those figures, with over twenty countries set to register for

The GNDO receives a Mayor’s Award from Adolfo Canepa in 2014

the Competition. Seamus’ ultimate goal for hosting the Championships is for international teams to go home with a positive perception of Gibraltar. His task, and that of his organising team, involves arranging flights and accommodation for other National teams and ensuring the Tercentenary Hall is fit to host the show and its many technical requirements. Seamus believes that bringing the IDO to Gibraltar will give the opportunity of performing in such a prestigious and highly regarded event to a wider range of local dancers. The Gibraltar side will even present teams in the formation category, which involves a mass of dancers working together on one piece.

CHOOSING THE TEAM This year is the GNDO’s opportunity to build on the 2011 IDO competition. A huge element of this is ensuring that the home team is the ‘crème de la crème’. The initial stage involves individuals, groups and local dance schools (of which there are seven affiliated with the GNDO) entering dancers to compete at the Gibraltar National Championships

in Children, Junior and Adult divisions. BRANCHING INTO OTHER GENRES The categories include Solo, Duet and Group sections. When questioned on Gibraltar’s leaning towards certain styles of dance, Seamus ‘The level of technique is the most explained that we have superb show, important factor that you need to see contemporary and jazz dancers. He from any dancer,’ Seamus insists, as he hopes to open up the team to compete explains the process the judges’ process in other categories including ballroom for choosing the best dancers. ‘Much of and other social competitive dancing. the technique comes from ballet training, The main reason for the lack of variety especially when we compete in per- is that these are the styles offered by the forming arts like show dance, modern majority of local dance Schools. Seamus and contemporary and jazz, where the insists that Gibraltar boasts an extremely technique is very high,’ he adds. high standard of dance in these areas. ‘We do need to do a lot in other areas,’ He goes on to discuss other integral Seamus explains, ‘in areas such as tap, factors like personality, image and cho- street dance and ballroom dancing.’ reographic composition, which the three chosen judges will maintain a watchful ‘That is the way forward for the GNDO eye over. The process will see dancers after the European Championships, beperform at least twice in a number of cause it’s important Gibraltar takes part qualifying rounds, before the chosen in other dance genres, and that we are team is announced. The chosen judges also able to improve our dance standards are all members of the IDO. Desiree in those. We need to give Gibraltarians Green is a qualified Royal Academy other opportunities of going to couple of Dance instructor from South Africa, dance competitions or street dance comMimi Marcac Mirceta is a lecturer at the petitions because there really is more to Faculty of Sports in the leading country dance…’ Seamus adds. He tells me that of Slovenia, and Edilio Pagano is the the GNDO will be working closely with IDO Vice-President who has a Masters Sequence Dance Clubs in an effort to in Dance from the Italian Federation for promote ballroom dancing in Gibraltar. Dance Professionals. Post European Show Dance ChampiGIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

onships, the team will attend the World Championships in Riesa Germany and as from next year the GNDO will send the team to the World Jazz and Contemporary Championships. They are also aiming to compete in the World Street Dance Championships and one day, in the World Couple Dance Festival in France and the World Olympiad in Russia.

DANCING TOWARDS THE OLYMPICS With direct affiliation to the IDO the GNDO supports the International Organisation’s move towards having dance entered into the Olympics. A prickly topic for many, American publication ‘Dance Sprit’ posed the question of whether dance should be in the Olympics during the 2012 Olympics Games in London. The outcome saw 2/3 of Facebook readers insisted on a resounding YES, whilst 1/3 questioned the ‘subjectivity of artistry’. Although it was almost unanimously agreed that dance involves many elements associated with sport. Perhaps if the move is one day a reality, we could see the Gibraltar team participating at an Olympic level.

GIBRALTAR NATIONAL DANCE TIMELINE

1982 – Gibraltar competes for the first time in a World Dance Competition organised by the IDO – Michael Prescott 1989 – Gibraltar’s first international judge for the IDO – Michael Prescott 1989 – Gibraltar reaches its first ever final at a World Competition - Aaron Caballero 1993 – Aaron Caballero wins Gibraltar’s first Gold Medal in the World Disco Free style Championships in Dunaujuvaros, Hungary. 2003 – Michael Prescott is awarded the IDO Golden Award at the World Show Dance Championships in Germany ‘for his pioneering efforts in making Gibraltar a strong dance nation in the IDO’. 2005 – Jordan Picardo and Claire McGrail win Gibraltar’s in the Children Duet Section at the World Show Dance Championships in Riesa, Germany. 2006 - Gibraltar wins its 3rd Gold Medal at the World Show Dance Championships, Children Solo Female Section, in Riesa, Germany – Ileana Martinez 2011 – Gibraltar hosts its first ever-international IDO competition. The European Show Dance Championships and World Cups are organised in association with Stage One Productions. 2011 – Gibraltar wins three Gold Medals at the Show Dance World Cup in Gibraltar. Winning pieces included: ‘Pirate’ in the Children Group; ‘Luigi and Mario’ Children’s Formation; Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in Junior Formation; 2012 – GNDO founder Michael Prescott is awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, for his contribution and services to the arts and dance in Gibraltar.

Gibraltar competes at the World Championships for the first time (1981)

Tickets for the Dance Nationals 2015 are available now. The Nationals will be held from Thursday 7th to Saturday 9th May 2015 at the John Mackintosh Hall Theatre. Further information can be obtained by contacting gndo@gibtelecom.net. Tickets for the IDO European Show Dance Championships will be available at a later date. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Cynthia: matters of the art

words | Elena Scialtiel

Heralding spring with a burst of colours, Cynthia Eagle has made a glamorous grand entrance on the local artistic scene. With her collection inspired by Cubism, Impressionism, Klimt, contemporary, abstract and conceptual, the former Director of Culture proves she can practice what she preached in her debut exhibition with co-starring navigated painter and friend Maribel Matthews. “Maribel encouraged me to keep on painting and suggested I should exhibit. So I dared her to a duet, and here we are! In the past two years I had more free time to dedicate to my passion, now that my children are grown up and I can spend my afternoons and weekends with the canvas. I’ve always loved to paint and I did paint when I had time, but life as a

working mother got in the way.” The outcome is a selection of accomplished work of diverse styles and sizes, sharing the common thread of happiness: “I believe that art must spark an emotion both in the artist and the bystander, even if it has to be revulsion. I like to hope my works inspire happiness, the very feeling I experience while painting them.” Cynthia rises above the fad of going extra-large and catchpenny, as she can say so much in such a small space, with a variety of subject matters (hearts, flowers, geometric shapes) comfortably arranged on A4 and A5 sized canvasses.

“These are my warm-up for the bigger work,” she says. “They get me focused, or are just a way to relax at the end of a creative day.” Dainty floral arrangements in bright springy hues on a solid background are one example of her ‘miniaturist’ talents but her excellence lies in the matters of the heart: she picks the traditional heart shape and reinvents it over and over again in all styles and colours, peering beyond its significance and transforming it in free-flowing light. These small square canvasses express different moods, from minimalistic metallic to cheeky tributes to Miró and GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

surfer graffiti, from smooth girlie pink to dramatically textured bold contrasts. “I started painting hearts to brighten up my long and dark corridor. Hanging in rows, the hearts lead the way and I often swap them from one nail to the next, to create a living mosaic.” If the heart has become her spur-ofthe-moment signature piece, there’s more to the creativity in her ‘serious’ work that requires careful planning, sketching and attention to detail to strike just the right balance. Cynthia moves easily within her cubist nature and cityscapes, flaunting her skilled drawing and her familiarity with linear perspective. The image is fragmented in myriads of triangles and polygons as if it was seen through a shattered mirror, but it retains a clear connection to the subject matter, so that one can tell what it represents, whether they are views of Gibraltar or rich floral arrangements. “I like the diamond shape and I use it often, even in the background,” she explains. One example is the tribute to her father-in-law: “He was a good man, a good father and grandfather.

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He loved gardening and affectionately tended to a bush of red roses, which I imagined to pick up and arrange in a vase, next to other objects that define his life, like the cards he used to play with his fellow soldiers during WWII, in particular the ten of diamonds to represent his ten children, and the ace of hearts, his wife.” This one painting is understandably not for sale, although most of the others are, and at a very modest price too. Even the extensive use of metal leaf in her contemporary collection doesn’t deter Cynthia from her philosophy of affording every fan a piece of original art for their walls. She bought rose gold leaf online, specifically to design an oversized heart thumping out of the canvas. She likes working with metallics, despite the challenge of keeping the leaf secured to the surface, as it tends to flake. The results are varied, from stylised still lifes to freeform abstracts that look like components fallen off the fuselage of a futuristic spaceship. Painting from her mind, Cynthia doesn’t do preliminary photographic research – although she is also a photographer, so expect

some camera work in her next exhibition! – or indulge in sketches. She goes straight for the canvas and sets the outline on it, filling the shapes at leisure and taking time to step back and analyse the balance in colour saturation. “I believe there is such thing as ‘overkill’ and one brushstroke too many can tip the scale. So I usually work on one painting at a time and I rarely go back to it after I had decided it’s done, and overdo it.” Her work progresses with experience and she has learnt from rookie mistakes, when the picture was too busy and too fragmented one would lose sight of its figurative value. The trick is getting the proportions right, so one can spot the bigger picture put together by the jigsaw puzzle of colours and shapes. There are no rainy days in her inspiration, as she can make the most of them too, by painting... the rain! Check out her early work Rainbow, where the colours bleed into each other to create the drenched nature effect, and the timid sunlight peeps through the downpours. For Cynthia, at the end of the rainbow there’s always a pot of paint – or gold leaf.

Celebrating 50 Years with Gibraltar’s Most Familiar Faces photos | Derek Booth

The Gibraltar Photographic Society hosted an exhibition featuring members’ photographs of well-known local personalities at the Fine Arts Gallery, last month. The premise of the exhibition was simple; using monochrome photograph your chosen icon somewhere dear to them, reflecting their passion. The exhibition features some of Gibraltar’s most recognisable and well loved characters; Momy Levy, Johnny Bugeja, Gino Sanguinetti, Father Bear, Alice Mascarenhas, Richard Garcia, Janet Howitt,… and some of the most prominent figures of our community; Fabian Picardo, Dr. John Cortes, RGP Commissioner Eddie Yome, Parliament Speaker and Mayor Adolfo Canepa. Inspecting the exhibition Secretary of the Society, Leslie Linares beams at the outcome of their work. Beautifully simplistic matte monochrome portraits hang along the walls of the gallery, all portraying the photographers’ varying levels of skill and style. I pick out my favourite piece; a stunning capture of Professor Clive Finlayson, his intensely detailed face deep in concentration. Leslie explained that the quality of the photographs made it hard to distinguish which were amateur and which were professionally shot. The exhibition, met with incredible feedback from both the sitters and the general public, aimed to include as many of the Society’s members as possible. They currently have 110 members, with a third of them fully active and frequently taking part in competitions, meetings, courses and lectures.

The group initially made a list of over a hundred local personalities to photograph, but managed to narrow it down to forty. They were adamant that the selection needed to be balanced. At an initial preview of the collection at the Convent, the subjects were able view their portraits. Following the exhibition, which ran from 8th April to the 24th, the sitters were invited to purchase their photographs, with all proceeds to go towards the GBC Open Day Fund. A book displaying the photos captured in the exhibition is on sale in the Gallery for £20. The Society further hosted a lecture by famous photographer Stuart Franklin to continue their 50th anniversary celebrations. The commemoration with also include a complete refurbishment of the Society’s headquarters on Wellington Front, a celebratory dinner at the Rock Hotel and another idea in the pipeline which involves publishing a book of Gibraltar photos that they are in the process of collecting. The Philatelic Bureau is also set to honour the club by releasing a selection of stamps marking the landmark year. The Society is always open to new members. They meet weekly on Mondays and host courses open to the public at least twice a year. Interested individuals can contact Leslie on leslinares@gibtelecom for more information on the group.

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Arthur Harper, Lifetime President of the Society

Rabbi Roni Hassid poses with his photographer

Photographer Derek Booth poses with his sitter, Momy Levy GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE â&#x20AC;˘ MAY 2015

Dante in Gibraltar: A Talk and an Exhibition words | Charles Durante

Kristel Turner and I have been discussing Dante’s Divine Comedy for over two years now. We thought we could make a contribution to culture in Gibraltar by combining an introductory talk on the Divine Comedy with an exhibition of compositions based on scenes drawn from the poem. The Florentine poet, Dante Alighieri, wrote the first definitive work of modern European literature in the vernacular, the Divine Comedy. Dante’s life and his involvement in the internecine strife which characterised Florentine politics, his reading of the great medieval philosophers like Thomas Aquinas, his knowledge of the Bible and the classics and, especially, his love for Beatrice, are all transformed into the encyclopaedic poem which expresses Dante’s vision of life after death but also encompasses a whole world view. Ruskin called Dante ‘the central man of all the world’ and, arguably, the Divine Comedy is regarded as the summit of poetic achievement in universal literature. Dante’s earlier works can be viewed as preparatory to his ‘magnum opus’. The ‘Vita Nuova’ gathers his love lyrics, inspired by his idealised love of Beatrice. These poems are submitted to a close prose analysis. The exploration of youthful love reflects the influence of the Sicilian school of love poetry-those poets, both Italian and Provencal, who wrote in the ‘dolce stil nuovo’-the new sweet style. The creative artist turned literary critic in ‘De Vulgari Eloquentia’, where Dante examines the state and suitability of Italian as a literary language. This work is the first example of a literary and linguistic examination of a modern language. A more philosophic text is ‘Il Convivio’

(The Banquet), which was planned as a series of fourteen treatises, each in the form of a prose commentary on one of Dante’s canzoni. Lastly, the ‘Monarchia’ is a Latin treatise on the theme of universal empire and the relation between Pope and Emperor. It is almost impossible to say anything useful or relevant about such an ambitious poem as the Divine Comedy in one short article. Dante invented modern literature by making contemporary characters and events the subject of art. From the dark wood (la selva oscura), where the poem starts, to the ecstatic vision of God that closes the last section (Paradiso), Dante’s vision spans the whole of human experience, creating moving encounters with a vast array of personalities and leading the enthralled reader through the terrors of Hell, the purgatorial sufferings of the second section, and a universe shot through with light and radiance, which is symbolised

by the white rose of paradise. The poem is meticulously structured, providing a plausible topography of the world beyond death. I may be mistaken, but I think that the combination of a talk on the Divine Comedy, together with an exhibition of compositions by Kristel, will be a double first for Gibraltar. The compositions are based on Kristel’s enterprising idea of transposing the late thirteenth century Florentine poet from his social, historical, political and religious milieu and setting him in our familiar Gibraltar world. Her compositions take famous encounters and incidents from the Divine Comedy and provide them with a Gibraltarian background, so that Paolo and Francesca, the famous lovers punished in the circle of the lustful in the Inferno, are seen buffeted by a merciless easterly wind, with a Rock shrouded in the pall of the Levanter cloud as back drop.

‘Charlie and Kristel taking a break from Dante’

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In this way we are imitating Dante who did not hesitate from populating the three regions of the afterlife with fellow Italians in their contemporary setting. Kristel has been inspired by Dante’s visual imagination. Interestingly, we have been to a certain extent forestalled by another Gibraltarian in our endeavour to bring Dante to Gibraltar. Henry Cary, who was born here in 1772, brought out the second full English translation of the Divine Comedy in 1814. Cary studied at Christ Church, Oxford, became an Anglican minister, developed a passion for Dante and his version, called ‘A Vision,’ became the standard English Dante for the great romantic poets like Keats, Wordsworth and Coleridge. There is a widespread misconception about Dante’s great poem. Because of the popularity of the first canticle, the Inferno, uninitiated readers think Dante is all gory details, sadistic punishments, demons gloating over poor, cowering humanity-a poetic counterpart of the more lurid medieval representations of hell.

the Italian nation’ and the very colours of the Italian flag are those in which Beatrice appears in the Earthly Paradise: red, green and white. Dante’s political treatise, ‘the Monarchia’, is seen as the first statement of the idea of Europe as a political entity. And the archetypal vision of hell is heavily indebted to Dante’s portrayal of the Inferno in the Comedy. The Talk The talk will concentrate on providing a short biographical account of Dante’s turbulent life, an exploration of the technique of allegorical interpretation, and a guided tour of Dante’s journey through the three realms of the afterlife, hell, purgatory and paradise. The talk will end with a detailed analysis of selected cantos. Kristel’s compositions will reflect some of the issues raised by the talk. She is conscious of following humbly in the wake of some of Dante’s revered

illustrators: Botticelli, whose drawings of the Paradiso are the most ethereal and spiritual; Gustav Dore with his gothic-inspired scenes drawn from the Inferno, and William Blake with his writhing figures and prophetic vision. We hope that the combination of a talk with an exhibition will appeal to beginners who have up till now been daunted by Dante’s poem, and to those who would like to increase their knowledge of Dante’s achievement. Knowledge of Italian will not be necessary to appreciate the talk. Dante has been well served by translators so that the problem is which translation to choose! The talk will take place at 7:00pm on Tuesday 2nd June, 2015 in the Charles Hunt Room, John Mackintosh Hall. There will be a power point presentation and both Kristel and I will be more than happy to provide comments on her compositions. Entrance is free.

Paolo and Francesca caught in the circle of the lustful

There is an element of truth in this picture, but even among the damned, you encounter the sympathetic Francesca da Rimini with her heart-rending love-story, Ulysses with his unquenchable desire for knowledge and Farinata degli Uberti, his pride still intact, as he gazes around scornfully in hell. However, this doesn’t exhaust the mind-boggling variety of Dante’s poem. Purgatorio and Paradiso, the second and third parts of the poem, are a glorious explosion of celestial light, ravishing music, ecstatic singing and graceful dancing. At the centre of this radiant world stands the figure of Beatrice, the highest exaltation of the figure of woman in world literature. So Dante is not all torture and gore; he is also the poet of the highest contemplation of beauty and of love. There is, of course, a more popular side to the Dante product. Italians claim he changed Italian history by making Italian (strictly speaking, his Tuscan dialect) into a comprehensive vehicle for the expression of civilized thought. He is sometimes called the ‘Father of GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Colour Me Enterprising words | Elena Scialtiel

Max the Macaque, hero of the first and only colouring and activity book designed and produced in Gibraltar, is going places: French and Spanish translations of his story are available on the local and international market, and he might even hop on a plane to London to paint the town red – and any other colour in your child’s crayon box.

orn from the young minds of Dimensions, a division of the Young Enterprise comprehensive school project, the 28-page booklet was entirely designed, produced and marketed by Westside students and friends Rhian Colton and Beatriz Blagden, together with Bayside colleagues Christian Gomez, Mark Collinson, Paul Gomez, Callum Smith, Bradley Banda, Aaron Santos (pictured below). Max the Macaque is an original cartoon character with a friendly smile and a Gib flag T-shirt who walks young children through Gibraltar’s landmarks, history, flora and fauna, page after page of sketches ready to be coloured in. The book features the outlines of the Moorish Castle, Catalan Bay, a British soldier in period uniform and musket, candytuft flowers, a telephone booth, seagulls, dolphins, the lighthouse, the cable car... most tourist attractions and

icons of Gibraltarian pride are pictured, and often suggestions are made about how to colour them lifelike. Rhian and Callum drew the pictures the old fashion way on a sheet of paper, then Aaron and Christian scanned them into a computer programme and polished them digitally. The business plan was inspired by the consideration that a topical colouring book for Gibraltar didn’t exist yet, and “because Gibraltar is so touristic and patriotic, we saw a gap in the market,” Dimensions say. But they didn’t want to stop at the illustrations and went the extra mile to make it informative as well, adding the captions, thoroughly researched with the help of their teachers, local historian Pete Jackson and the Gibraltar Museum. Those captions won’t be lost in translation in the forthcoming editions of Max le Singe and Max el Macaco, expect-

ed to be released in June at local outlets. In the meantime, Max is selling fast at several hotspots around town: since its launch in February, over seven hundred copies flew off the shelves, and with a retail price of £4.99, Dimensions’ coffers are rattling, and the guys are racing for the Young Enterprise’s top spot, worth a ticket to the UK to participate in the nationwide competition. Anyone prone to dismiss this venture as child play, because the associates are underage, must think again: Dimensions is a legally registered company in Gibraltar, and its logo and Max the Macaque’s name and likeness are trademarked.

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

There’s a catch though: belonging to minors, the company cannot set up a website for potential customers to purchase the book online so business is done with cash transactions at the Ocean Village Sunday market, where Dimensions sets up a stall every week. The company will be liquidated at the end of the academic year, with a back door left open to reforming in case Max decides to go on further adventures, like the ones in the pipeline for London. Everything is looked after down to the smallest detail, including the safety hazard warning that pages are stapled, so parents can ensure their toddlers won’t prick their fingers on them. With the financial assistance of AM Capurro, Site Trading Ltd and East Gate, Dimensions are encouraging the public to buy a locally crafted souvenir, availEmail dimensionsgibraltar@gmail. able from most bookshops, the Gibraltar Museum, the Gibraltar Heritage Trust com or like their Facebook page Dimenand MH Bland. It is a great memento for sions Gibraltar for information about anyone wanting to bring home a guide the whereabouts of their next stall. to Gibraltar with the difference.

Roberto Sánchez Terreros is a 55year old fine artist and goldsmith who has worked in the United States and exhibited in many Spanish galleries before turning to editorial illustration for mythology, poetry, ethnology and travel books. Gibraltar is his latest project and the first of the series Espacios Abiertos, focusing on cities and places deemed unique for their location, history or culture.

Fish-eye Illustrations: One book, Two Nations An illustrated coffee-table book about Gibraltar enjoyed its ‘world-premiere’ launch at the Garrison Library’s beeswaxscented upper room last month. An illustrated coffee-table book about Gibraltar enjoyed its ‘world-premiere’ launch at the Garrison Library’s beeswax-scented upper room last month. Minister for Culture Steven Linares introduced its Editor Pedro Tabernero to the cosy audience gathered. A second presentation took place in San Roque the following day. The book contains poems by local writer Trino Cruz, writings by journalist Juan José Tellez, and several illustrations by artist Roberto Sánchez Terreros, who unfortunately was recovering from a minor operation and couldn’t attend personally, but had his editor read his warm speech. He describes this ‘vibrant book’ as ‘the happy traveller’s soul’ that sips a cocktail of lush greens, ocean blues with a touch of azure, warm yellows of Levanter and cool violets of Poniente winds’. Roberto portrays Gibraltar’s landmarks and panoramic views through a distorted lens or a convex mirror featuring a flourish of detail and dynaGIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

mism, thanks to his elaborate drawing technique and plentiful squiggly lines traced in gouache and wax crayons.

occasionally overpower the images’ buildings. For instance, in the King’s Chapel view, the undulation of vertical lines and the ballooning of the horizontal ones leads the onlooker’s attention to the bright red car in the foreground (driving the wrong way down the road!), which undeservedly steals the show. Charming are the views of Ince’s Hall and Landport Tunnel, and those that spans across the Strait, portraying the Rock and bridge of continents as seen from the Ceuta angle. The front cover is graced by the worldwide renowned view of the Rock from La Linea’s west promenade but the focus here is shifted towards two playful dolphins causing commotion of froth and spray on the sea surface, captivatingly rendered in truly professional touristic promotional poster style. Macaques are there too: mother and baby sit on the top of a cannon and pointing to the Moorish Castle where the Union Jack is hoisted, so embracing the very essence and history of the British territory in one swirl.

He transforms the landscape in a series of cinematic sets for a contemporary fairytale production, and does it via wide-breath views, like the sunset Bay Gibraltar is available from the Garrison panorama from the cable car top station, while his serpentine motion brushstroke Library and selected bookshops for £30.

About town It’s been a busy month for Gibraltar as the weather (finally) started to pick up and the Gibraltar Spring Festival was launched.

One of the most exciting things to have happened was a lecture by famed National Geographic photographer

Stuart Franklin who spoke to Westside and Bayside Year 13 students about his lifetime in photography.

April also saw the opening of young and talented make-up artist Scally Torres’ Beauty Clinic, in the heart of Main Street. She offers a host of reasonably priced beauty treatments and is well worth checking out!

The Gibraltar Fine Arts Society organised a well-attended lecture on ‘Picasso and his Women’ at the Eliott hotel, to an audience of 80 art lovers. Speaker Valarie Woodgate gave an account of Picasso’s relationship with the women in his life.

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GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

The traditional Ceremonial Guard mount was carried out outside the Convent, with Governor Sir James Dutton and Chief Minister Fabian Picardo watching over the parade from the balcony.

The Walk to the Top of the Rock, in aid of Cancer Research drew a huge turnout, with many in fancy dress. They walked from John Mackintosh Square, to the Mons Calpe Suite, GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE â&#x20AC;˘ MAY 2015

where they were treated to a BBQ for their efforts. The event was in memory of Joey Gabay, who sadly lost his battle against Sarcoma in 2012.

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Charity Easter Cakes at King’s Chapel Maundy Thursday saw the King’s Chapel Charity Coffee Morning take on a chipper Easter theme, with mini eggs sprouting from the well-loved cupcakes. Raising money for Clubhouse Gibraltar the monthly fundraiser brought together some familiar faces, including author Richard Garcia, the Governor’s wife Lady Dutton and former Mayor Tony Lima, all in support of the charity. Clubhouse Gibraltar is a work-based programme for individuals who have a history of mental illness. It allows them to be integrated into the community and ‘develop to their full potential’. Clubhouse Gibraltar offers employment, community support, education

and housing programmes and works extremely closely with the new Mental Health Facility ‘Ocean Views’ to ensure former patients are properly integrated back into the community. King’s Chapel hosts fundraising coffee mornings one Thursday every month, for different local organisations. They have previously raised money for the Cat Welfare Society, Alzheimer’s and Dementia Support Group and the Brain Trust. The cakes are provided by the group at the King’s Chapel and the Military Wives. Coffee is donated by the Chapel. Guests are asked to donate £2.50 to attend.

Chairwoman of Clubhouse Gibraltar, Emily Adamberry-Olivero, expressed her gratitude towards the gesture. She said that it was ‘a lovely opportunity to meet and greet locals and raise money and awareness in a friendly atmosphere.’ Clubhouse Gibraltar can be contacted via telephone at 20068423 and via email at info@ clubhousegibraltar.com

Lady Dutton Enjoys a Coffee Coffee morning attendees treated to special easter cakes

Clubhouse Chairwoman Emily Adamberry Olivera chats to author Richard Garcia

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

A New Hot Spot Bringing the Banus Nightlife to Gibraltar Expanding their brand across the Costa del Sol and into Gibraltar, the Sala Group last month announced the opening of La Sala Gibraltar aboard the Sunborn Hotel. The group owns Puerto Banus hot spots La Sala, Aqwa Mist, Sala Beach, La Terraza and the nearby El Rincón de La Sala in San Pedro de Alcántara, This collaboration between the Group, headed by Ian Radford and Rob Segal, and the Sunborn Gibraltar will fill a gap in the Sunborn’s late night entertainment market, which has been limited since the seasonal closure of pool top bar ‘Aqua’. The restaurant holds links with former premier league footballers Stephen Carr who played for Tottenham, Newcastle and Birmingham and David Bentley who is best known for his stints in Arsenal, Blackburn and Tottenham.

La Sala is often the restaurant of choice for footballs and other celebrities, including Sir Alan Sugar, Prince Albert of Monaco, Jamie Oliver and the cast of The Only Way is Essex. The Gibraltar branch will bring a spice of the quintessential live entertainment seen in Banus, including a host of tribute nights and some sneaky appearances by some rather famous performers. Deputy Mayoress Kaiane Aldorino mingles at the La Sala pre launch

The pre launch of the restaurant, held at the future restaurant premises in the Sunborn’s Sapphire Bar, was hugely well attended by local personalities and La Sala’s high profile shareholders. Sky Sports’ Jeff Stelling, who presents Gillette Soccer Saturday, was also there to show his support of the brand.

Jeff Stelling interviews David Bentley at the launch GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Sunborn Hotels CEO Hans Niemi

Wedding Fair – Showcasing the Best

Kicking off a Summer of events, the Sunborn Gibraltar held their first Wedding Fair in April. Showcasing the best of what Gibraltar has to offer within the industry, stalls displayed bridal wear, bouquets, wedding jewelry, wedding cakes, wedding caterers, honey moon destinations, wedding planners, beauty products, wedding photographers and molecular cocktails. The Sunborn’s Dylan Trinidad explained that the event would become an annual show, with the two days drawing in over 500 spectators. The fair showed off the Sunborn’s own wedding venue, the Aurora Ballroom, which the ship is currently taking bookings for 2017. Dylan insisted that the fair emphasised the idea of keeping Gibraltarian weddings local, and being able to source everything you might need when planning a wedding, in Gibraltar. Five catwalk shows we carried out throughout the duration of the fair, displaying much of the bridal wear on offer. Guests were treated to wine tastings, food samplings and Sunborn goody bags during their time at the fair. The Sunborn has much more to offer this Summer, with the Casino’s launch happening imminently and a Summer White Party planned. June will also see the opening of La Sala, aboard the flotel.

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

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Gibraltar Scores! Mike Nicholls went to Glasgow for the UEFA European Qualifiers

Glasgow, what a fabulous city. And the ‘Tartan

Army’, what a great bunch of supporters!

494 Gibraltar supporters descended onto Glasgow to watch the latest Euro 2016 qualifying international match with Scotland at Hampden Park. With no direct flights into Glasgow from Gibraltar or Malaga, my group of five flew to Manchester and then we let the train take the strain to Grand Central Station. David Frier was in charge, born and bred in Scotland and now a tax consultant in Gibraltar. We had representation from Chesterton, BetVic and Isolas. The hotel was classy, the nearby streets, bars and restaurants were a cut above what most of us had imagined Glasgow to be like. David had chosen our base well.

porters was amazing. Pints were drunk, songs were sang and friends were made.

Kick-off was 5pm. 34,000 supporters all in good voice assembled to watch a David v Goliath contest. Gibraltar hadn’t achieved a clean sheet or a goal in its qualifying games thus far... Could they? Yes they could! 1-0 down after 18 minutes, Lee Casciaro wrote himself into the history books, racing onto a pass by Aaron Payas to slot through the legs of the Scottish keeper for 1-1. We had witnessed Gibraltar’s first ever goal in an official competitive UEFA match. What a celebration it was in the away end. As Gordon Strachan, the Scottish Typical for boys on tour, after a num- manager admitted after the game: ‘We ber of beverages, we ended up in a fine took it for granted Gibraltar were not Glaswegian curry house in the early going to score’. hours of Sunday morning before returning to the hotel for a single malt nightcap. The experience and greater fitness After a Scottish breakfast, including the levels of the professional team overtook obligatory haggis, it was time for some Gibraltar and the final score was 6-1. tourism, which turned out to be shop- But, Gibraltar has scored its first goal. ping. Pretty dull it was, so we decided Mission accomplished. Next task, a clean to put on the Gibraltar team shirt and sheet. Whilst the cold damp weather scarf, and head for a pub, nice and early is long forgotten, the warmth of the for some pre-match banter. We never Scottish fans will be long remembered. expected what we stumbled across… The return match is in Faro on Sunday 11 October, kick off 20.45. It is the last The Iron Horse Pub in West Nile Street qualifying game of Euro 2016, so the last was rammed with Scottish supporters in competitive UEFA match for Gibraltar full national regalia and a huge number for 2 years until Euro 2020 qualifying. of Gibraltarians in red and white. The At least 10,000 Scottish fans will be there camaraderie between the two sets of sup- and team 54 will be back on tour.

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Coffee Time 1

Just for fun 3 9 6

7 5 4

4 8 6 1 3 7 2 6 3 2 1 5 7

2 9

1 3 9 7 5 6 1 8 6 2

8 9 10 11

12 13

17 18

22 23 24

Crossword Competition

First Prize Lunch for 2 at The Clipper

Last months winner:

John Dalli - Harbour Views

Flight Schedule Day Flight No. Airline Mon EZY8901 easyJet BA490 British Airways ZB062 Monarch ZB574 Monarch Tue EZY8901 easyJet BA490 British Airways ZB062 Monarch ZB446(a) Monarch EZY6299 EasyJet Wed EZY8901 easyJet BA490 British Airways ZB062 Monarch ZB574 Monarch Thu EZY8901 easyJet AT990 Royal Air Maroc BA490 British Airways ZB446 Monarch EZY6299 easyJet Fri EZY8901 easyJet BA490 British Airways ZB062 Monarch ZB574 Monarch Sat EZY8901 easyJet BA490 British Airways BA492 British Airways Sun EZY6299 easyJet BA490 British Airways AT990 Royal Air Maroc BA492 British Airways ZB446 Monarch ZB574 Monarch EZY8905 easyJet ZB062 Monarch a) Operates from 19 May

May 2015

Arr. From Dep. Flight No. 10.55 Gatwick 11.25 EZY8902 16.10 Heathrow 17.00 BA491 19.10 Luton 19.55 ZB063 20.10 Manchester 20.55 ZB575 10.55 Gatwick 11.25 EZY8902 16.10 Heathrow 17.00 BA491 19.00 Luton 19.45 ZB063 19.10 Birmingham 20.00 ZB447(a) 20.30 Bristol 21.00 EZY6300 10.55 Gatwick 11.25 EZY8902 16.15 Heathrow 17.00 BA491 19.00 Luton 19.45 ZB063 20.10 Manchester 20.55 ZB575 10.55 Gatwick 11.25 EZY8902 12.55 Tangier 13.45 AT991 16.15 Heathrow 17.00 BA491 19.10 Birmingham 20.00 ZB447 20.30 Bristol 21.00 EZY6300 10.55 Gatwick 11.25 EZY8902 16.10 Heathrow 17.00 BA491 19.00 Luton 19.45 ZB063 20.10 Manchester 20.55 ZB575 11.40 Gatwick 12.10 EZY8902 16.10 Heathrow 17.00 BA491 17.15 Heathrow 18.15 BA493 11.35 Bristol 12.05 EZY6300 16.15 Heathrow 17.00 BA491 16.35 Tangier 17.25 AT991 17.15 Heathrow 18.15 BA493 19.00 Birmingham 19.50 ZB447 19.10 Manchester 19.55 ZB575 20.20 Gatwick 20.50 EZY8906 20.40 Luton 21.25 ZB063

To Gatwick Heathrow Luton Manchester Gatwick Heathrow Luton Birmingham Bristol Gatwick Heathrow Luton Manchester Gatwick Tangier Heathrow Birmingham Bristol Gatwick Heathrow Luton Manchester Gatwick Heathrow Heathrow Bristol Heathrow Tangier Heathrow Birmingham Manchester Gatwick Luton

Brian T Richards, Air Travel info@briantrichards.com www.briantrichards.com GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

1) Long-lasting (7) 8) Wildly or restlessly, (in music) (7) 9) Pirate’s sword (7) 10) Doubled up; in more than one division (7) 11) Boy’s first name or old film star/director’s surname (5) 13) Shoulder belt for carrying ammunition (9) 15) Antipodean country (9) 18) Mythical giant (5) 21) Spread, as with leaves (7) 22) More ecological (7) 23) Conclusion to a musical phase (7) 24) Decoding stone (7)

Down 1) 2) 3) 4) 5)

Notes

Across

Chopped into small pieces (5) Helicopter blade (5) Collecting a particular type of fruit (13) Sheena ------, pop singer (6) Eponymous Shakespearean who generously gave away all in ancient Greece (5,2,6) 6) Bugsy ------, child gangster (6) 7) Animal feed (6) 12) Hairy Old Testament character (4) 14) Jane Austen novel (4) 15) Within the description given (2,4) 16) Food, as opposed to drink (6) 17) Temporary paying guest (6) 19) Principle (5) 20) Opera by Bellini; girl’s name (5)

Cruise Schedule

May 2015

DOA Vessel

ETA

ETD

Pass

Capacity

Sat 02

Saga Sapphire

12:00

23:59

British

700

Sat 02

Aurora

09:00

23:59

British

1975

Sun 03

Emerald Princess

07:00

17:00

American

3100

Mon 04

Corinthian

08:00

22:00

American

114

Mon 04

Silver Explorer

10:00

21:00

American

160

Tue 05

iking Star

12:00

23:00

International

928

Tue 05

Tere Moana

09:00

21:00

American

Thu 07

Saga Pearl II

08:00

18:00

British

450

Sat 09

Anthem of the Seas

12:00

18:00

British

4180

Sun 10

Star Flyer

11:00

19:00

International

170

Sun 10

Ryndam

13:00

23:00

American

1226

Sun 10

Prinsendam

08:00

16:00

American

758

Sun 10

Arcadia

07:00

12:00

British

1968

Mon 11

Ventura

08:00

14:00

British

3100

Mon 11

Explorer of the Seas

08:00

17:00

International

3114

Wed 13

Thomson Dream

07:00

19:00

British

1494

Thu 14

Seabourn Quest

08:00

17:00

American

450

Tue 19

Crystal Serenity

09:00

18:00

American

1080

Tue 19

Azura

08:00

13:00

British

3076

Wed 20

Caribbean Princess

09:00

16:00

British

3080

Sun 24

Oriana

07:00

13:00

British

1975

Wed 27

Seven Seas Voyager

08:00

23:59

American

714

Sun 31

Queen Victoria

08:00

13:00

British

2000

Sun 31

Aurora

09:00

14:00

British

1975

Mon 01

Ventura

09:30

14:30

British

3100

www.gibraltarport.com

Spring Festival: 1st May - 20th June Programme of events May Thursday 1st May 11am to 12 Midnight May Day Celebrations Organised by the Gibraltar Cultural Services. Featuring 2013 X Factor Winner Sam Bailey, Jet Stream, Headwires, Another Day, Heritage, Super Wookie, Santos Choir, Art in Movement, Urban Dance, Kristian Celecia, DJ No Limits Entertainment and a Fun Day for all the Family, Casemates Square

11am to 1pm - Calpe Band Lobby of Parliament 12 noon - Re-enactment Society march to Casemates Square 9pm - Gibraltar International Song Festival Featuring: Bjorn Again (Abba Tribute Band) Tercentenary Sports Hall Tickets priced at £10 from the Gibraltar Tourist Board (Casemates office) For further information please visit www. gibraltarsongfestival.com or contact John Jones at gibjon@gmail.com

Saturday 2nd May 10am to 3pm Arts & Crafts Market. Casemates Square Classic Vehicle Static Display Organised by the Gibraltar Classic Vehicle Association. John Mackintosh Square 12 noon - Re-enactment Society march to Casemates Square

Tuesday 12th May 7pm - Bidding for World Heritage Status the story so far Museum Lecture by Dr Geraldine Finlayson GA John Mackintosh Hall Theatre Entrance Free

Tuesday 5th to Friday 15th May 10am to 6pm - Art Exhibition by James Foot. Fine Arts Gallery, Casemates Square. Entrance Free. For further info please contact the Fine Arts Gallery on 20052126 or email: finearts@gibtelecom.net Thursday 7th to Saturday 9th May 7pm - Gibraltar’s Dance Nationals ‘Selecting Gibraltar’s National Team’ Organised by the Gibraltar National Dance Organisation, John Mackintosh Hall. Qualifier to select the dancers who will represent Gibraltar at the forthcoming IDO European Championships to be organised in our homeland in October 2015. Tickets priced at £7 per session On sale at the On Pointe Dance Shop as from Thursday 23rd April 2015 For further information please contact email gndo@gibtelecom.net Thursday 7th and Tuesday 12th May Gibraltar Festival for Young Musicians Organised by Allegro Music Productions Thursday 7th May 9:30am - School Festival Day: Ince’s Hall Theatre Friday 8th May 9:30am - Choir workshops & choral class adjudications: Ince’s Hall Theatre Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th May Instrumental adjudications: The Convent ballroom Monday 11th May - Elena Cobb Jazz adjudications 4pm: The Convent ballroom Tuesday 12th May - Gala Concert 7pm: The Convent ballroom Tickets for Thursday - Monday priced at £3 Tickets for Gala Concert on Tuesday 11th priced at £10 Tickets on sale at the door For further information please contact allegromusicproductions@hotmail.com or visit our website www.gibfym.com Saturday 9th May 10am to 3pm - Arts & Crafts Market Casemates Square

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Friday 15th May 8pm - Project Choir - Organised by Santos Productions John Mackintosh Hall Theatre Tickets priced at £15 For further information please contact email: info@santos-productions.com Friday 15th May 8pm - Gibraltar’s Got Talent - Auditions Organised by Ideal Productions Ince’s Hall Theatre. Season Tickets for the whole series are priced at £20. Tickets on sale via email: gibraltargottalent@gmail.com; via their website www.idealproductions.wix.com idealproductions or at Music Corner For further information please contact email: idealproductions@live.com or 54026013 Saturday 16th May 10am to 2pm - Lions Club of Gibraltar Awareness Day. Lobby Parliament 10am to 6pm - Gibraltar International Classic & Vintage Car Rally Organised by the Gibraltar Classic Vehicle Association. Casemates Square 12 noon - Re-enactment Society march to Casemates Square Tuesday 19th May 8pm - A Celebration of Opera St Michael’s Cave Arranged on behalf of the Ministry of Culture by the Gibraltar Philharmonic Society. Tickets at £20 on sale as from Monday 20th April 2015 from Sacarello’s Coffee Shop, Irish Town and the Silver Shop at 222 Main Street or directly from the Society by telephone on + 350 200 72134. A limited amount of tickets at £10 for Senior Citizens and Students available from the John Mackintosh Hall reception Ticket price includes a return shuttle service from the Public Market and opposite the Cable Car as from 6:30pm

Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st May 8pm - Zarzuela - ‘La Boda de Luis Alonso’ Organised by Santos Productions John Mackintosh Hall Theatre Tickets £5 from the John Mackintosh Hall Reception. As from Tuesday 5th May 2015 from 10am to 2pm. Sale of tickets limited to 10 per person. For further information please contact email info@santos-productions.com Wednesday 20th May 7.30pm - Art Lecture by James Allen ‘Calligeofigueresque’ an Introduction to Islamic Art and Design’. Organised by the Gibraltar Decorative and Fine Arts Society, O’Callaghan Eliott Hotel. For Further information please contact Claus Olesen on 20002024 Friday 22nd May 9:30pm - Fighting Leukaemia with Fashion Fashion show in aid of Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, Ince’s Hall Theatre Tickets priced at £10 on sale from Karess Zammitt on 54003234 Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th May The Gib Fringe Festival Alameda Open Air Theatre Times: 7:30pm and 9pm (Fri) 7pm and 8:30pm (Sat) and at 3pm on Sunday Featuring: Britain’s finest comedy by Andrew Doyle and Scott Capurro. Concerts by Gibraltar’s own talent Paddy Taylor and the Bloody Lovelies from Australia and an awesome family and kids show with face painting on Sunday Tickets prices range from £7 to £20 with Under 4s are free; Family specials and group prices available. Tickets can also be purchased at the door or from www.gibfringe.yapsody.com For further information please contact emails: info@gibfringe.com or tix@ gibfringe.com or visit the website: www.gibfringe.com Saturday 23rd May 10am - 6pm - Museum Open Day Gibraltar Museum, Bomb House Lane Free Entrance 12 noon - Re-enactment Society march to Casemates Square Friday 29th - Sunday 30th May Gastronomy on the Queensway Quay Organised by The Queensway Quay Restaurant Group Queensway Quay Live bands and live cooking stations Entrance Free: For further info please contact Robert Rae on telephone 20045665 or email: restaurantgroupoperationsmanager@ gibtelecom.net/ Friday 29th May from 6pm to 10:30pm Saturday 30th May from 12noon to 10:30pm Sunday 31st May from 4pm to 10:30pm GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Saturday 30th May 9.30am onwards - Annual Heritage Painting Competition. Organised by the Gibraltar Heritage Trust. The Theme for 2015 is the North Front and its environment. Registration to take part on the day from 9.30am to 12noon on site - For further information please contact the Heritage Trust on their website: www.gibraltarheritagetrust.org.gi 10am - 2pm - Cancer Research UK Charity Lobby of Parliament 10am to 3pm - Arts & Crafts Market Casemates Square 12 noon - Re-enactment Society march to Casemates Square 8.30pm - Steve Hogarth in Concert St Michael’s Cave. Organised by Gib Media. Tickets priced at £20 On sale at Music Corner (Main Street) and www.buytickets.gi. Shuttle from Grand Parade from 7:30pm. For further information please visit www.gibmedia.gi June Monday 1st to Friday 5th June (School performances only) Young Shakespeare Company John Mackintosh Hall Theatre Tuesday 2nd June 7:00pm - ‘Dante in Gibraltar’ Lecture by Charles Durante with sketches by Kristel Turner. John Mackintosh Hall, Charles Hunt Room. Entrance free of charge Wednesday 3rd June 4.30pm - Short Story Competition Prize Giving. At the Charles Hunt Room All Winning stories will be printed in The Gibraltar Chronicle Friday 5th June 8pm - Gibraltar’s Got Talent Semi-Final Organised by Ideal Productions Ince’s Hall Theatre. Season Tickets for the whole series are priced at £20. Tickets on sale via email gibraltargottalent@gmail.com; via their website www.idealproductions.wix.com. idealproductions or at Music Corner For further information please contact email: idealproductions@live.com or 54026013 Saturday 6th June 10am to 3pm - Classic Vehicle Static Display. Organised by the Gibraltar Classic Vehicle Association. Casemates Square. 11am to 2pm - Book Crossing Day Organised by the Gibraltar Cultural Services. Lobby of Parliament 12 noon - Re-enactment Society march to Casemates Square Tuesday 9th June 7pm - Pots, places and people: an archaeologist’s journey. Museum Lecture by Ms Sue Davies OBE . John Mackintosh Hall Theatre Entrance Free. GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Saturday 13th June 10am to 2pm - Awareness Day - Energy and Water Efficiency. Organised by the Department of the Environment. Lobby of Parliament. For further information please contact: info@environment.gov.gi 10am to 3pm - Arts & Crafts Market Casemates Square. 12 noon - Re-enactment Society march to Casemates Square Tuesday 16th June 6.30pm - Spring Visual Art Exhibition John Mackintosh Hall. Official Opening & Prize Giving Wednesday 17th to Friday 26th June 9am to 9.30pm - Spring Visual Art Exhibition. John Mackintosh Hall Free Entrance Friday 19th June 8:30pm - ‘Dance Show’ Organised by the Mediterranean Dance School. John Mackintosh Hall. Tickets priced at £10. On sale at the On Pointe Dance Shop. For further information please contact email: nichol@gibtelecom.net or 54013520 Tuesday 16th - 18th June Gibraltar World Music Festival 2015 ‘Khamsa’. Organised by Gibraltar Productions Tuesday 16th 8:30pm - Leisure Cinemas Award winning documentary ‘Tinghir-Jerusalem: Echoes from the Mellah’by Moroccan film maker Kamal Hachkar.

Wednesday 17th June 7:00pm – Commonwealth Park ‘Le Souk’ A street event for Gibraltar to discover the sounds, smells and colours that Morocco can offer at its best. Thursday 18th June 8:00pm - St Michael’s Cave ‘Convivencia’ Concert Featuring - Dhafer Youssef, Tunisian Oud player, vocalist and composer. Tickets on sale at 92 Irish Town as from 20th April Tickets priced at £30 and £25 for senior citizens and students Ticket price are inclusive of shuttle to the cave. Shuttle starts at 7:00pm from Elliot’s way and Public Market. Further information available from 20068899 or www.gibraltarproductions.com and info@ gibraltar productions.com Saturday 20th June FESTIVAL FINALE 7pm to 1am CALENTITA - Organised by Word of Mouth for the Ministry of Culture A Celebration of Gibraltar’s Multi-Cultural Community Casemates Square

Gibraltar Cultural Services April 2015 info@culture.gi 20075669

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Why We May be Drinking Wines too Soon I believe that in general we drink our wines too young. Doing so we miss those wonderful nuances that wines develop on the journey to their optimum drinking window. If you think that this only applies to expensive wines then think again. Even the most humble wines will improve if kept for a couple of years in bottle after purchase.

I recall some years ago scouring Gibraltar wine merchant for new world wines in preparation for a practical wine exam and ended up with numerous examples of inexpensive wines from Australia and other southern hemisphere wine producing regions. Having overdone my buying I was left with numerous bottles which I stored and “rediscovered” some years later. I was taken aback how these wines had improved and how wrong the recommendations to “ drink now” from well-known experts had been. Of course we have very real problems in Gibraltar with storing wines. Nothing will kill off a wine quicker than excessive heat so some sort of wine cooler will be crucial should you decide to keep some wines for future drinking. Coolers come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and prices but will allow wines to be kept for years should your patience allow. I have a 200 bottle cabinet which whilst keeping the wines in very good condition is extremely awkward to use as the wines at the back of the cabinet can only be accessed by removing the wines at the front. However I view this as positive as it will encourage me to leave the wines at the back longer than I would otherwise. I recently “discovered” two bottles of Priorato wines going back to 1997 which I had forgotten about and which had improved beyond all recognition. How sorry I am I had not kept some more! If you decide to buy a cooler and keep some wines which wines should you buy? The

answer is simple buy wines you enjoy but buy several examples of the same wine and open at yearly intervals and see how the wine is improving or not as the case may be. In Gibraltar we have a great choice of wonderful Riojas so I tend to buy these knowing that when the last bottle is eventually drunk the wine will no longer be available in the shops or only at a premium from specialists wine merchants and of course the wine will have shed its rougher edges, lost some fruit but be immensely more complex and satisfying. Recently I drank some Rioja Alta Reserva 1998, which I bought in Anglos some years ago. Again I wish I had bought some more! Other wines which will yield good results when kept for 2 or 3 years are new world wines. Less expensive examples are meant to be drunk immediately but don’t let this discourage you from cellaring a couple of bottles and see if the fruity duckling will turn into an elegant swan. Don’t assume that white wines will not benefit from some ageing. Again some experimentation is required here but a pretty sure bet is champagne. Old champagne has become extremely fashionable in London recently and prices of older wines have skyrocketed. However with some patience we can enjoy all the benefits of older champagne by keeping some bottles in our cooler and waiting as long as we can. Old champagne will have pronounced flavours of ripe apples, honey and freshly baked biscuits. A real contrast to the leaner, meaner high acidity flavours of youthful champagne! GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Other white wines suitable for cellaring are Chenin Blancs. The natural high acidity in these grapes allows these wines to mature for decades. I recently tasted a 1964 Chenin Blanc from France and was struck how youthful and elegant the wine was after all these years. New world Chenins are available in Gibraltar and are a good bet for the future. One last word on wine ageing. Don’t assume that if a bottle has a screw cap it will not be suitable for ageing. I have had some older bottles of New World Wines with screw caps and ageing these has proved to be extremely worthwhile. Another benefit is the wine will not be corked !

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Wine to be tried at least once in your life Domaine de Chevalier Blanc This is a Graves estate in Bordeaux producing both red and white wine. Their white wine made from Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon is sensational. Unfortunately, this is not available in Gibraltar but is so exceptional that I feel I need to shout about this wine from the rooftops. This is an explosive wine of huge complexity and elegance, which will blow even the most famous white wines out of the water. As you would expect, it is not cheap but if it were on sale in Gibraltar, with our low import duty on wines, I would expect to pay around £45+ a bottle. Serious money for a white wine but one that merits getting together with friends and splashing out on! This wine will last for decades and I was lucky to recently taste a bottle from 1984 and was left stunned. Is this the best white wine I know off? I am not sure but I suspect that if I was allowed only one white wine on a desert island this would be it!

words | Andrew Licudi

Domaine de Chevalier red is a also a must for wine geeks though not well known generally. They also produce a much cheaper white called L’Esprit de Chevalier Blanc which would sell for about £15 in Gib though I cannot comment as I have yet to taste this.

appetite

e to wher drink eat & the on k Roc

restaurants

Café Solo

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

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

Casa Pepe

Nunos Italian

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

Café Solo Grand Casemates Square. Tel: 200 44449

Solo Bar & Grill

Solo Bar and Grill is a stylish and modern eatery — perfect for business functions or lunches — and part of the popular Cafe Solo stable. Serving everything from Goats’ Cheese Salad, Mediterranean Pâté and Cajun Langoustines to Beer Battered John Dory, or Harissa Chicken, and Chargrilled Sirloin Steak. This is a delightful venue in Europort with a cosy mezzanine level and terrace seating. Well worth a visit, or two! Available for private functions and corporate events — call 200 62828 to book your function or event. Open: 12-8pm. Solo Bar & Grill Eurotowers Tel: 200 62828

Sacarello Coffee Co

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

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

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

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

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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 • APRIL 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 B r i g h t a n d a i r y, recently redecorated cafe on the first floor of the ICC. All homemade food including daily specials, vegetarian options, desserts and small cakes. Eat in or takeaway. Try their daily roast with everything on, or their all-day breakfast. Pensioner’s lunch - 2 course meal for £5.25. Friendly, cheerful and fully licensed. Open: from 7.30am Monday to Friday Just Desserts 1st Floor ICC. Tel: 200 48014

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

The Lounge

Stylish lounge and gastro bar on the quayside at Queensway Quay with very reasonable prices and food from 10am until late. Popular quiz on Sundays (from 7.30pm) and a relaxed friendly atmosphere... always plenty of people / yachties to chat to. Events (matches etc) covered on large TV. Great place to chill out. Open: 10am Mon - Sat until late and from 12pm on Sun (get there early for a seat for the quiz). The Lounge Queensway Quay Marina Tel: 200 61118

Oasis Eatery

Located in Governor’s Parade, just across from the Elliot Hotel, and offers hot/cold drinks plus a delicious homemade selection of baked items such as cakes and quiches, also sandwiches and wraps, bagels and cupcakes. Vegan/vegetarian items. Oasis is on Facebook and Twitter and you can pre-order online which is handy for a quick lunch. Special orders taken for a range of bakery goods. Fully licensed for beers and wine. Terrace seating. Open: 8am to 3pm Oasis Eatery Govenor’s Parade Tel: 200 65544 www.oasiseatery.com

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

Picadilly Gardens Relaxed bar restaurant located near to the Queen’s Hotel and Cable car, it has a cosy garden terrace, which is great for drinks, tapas and food al fresco. English breakfast, tapas, hamburgers, fresh fish, paella by pre-order, prawns, squid, clams and a variety of meat dishes. Eat in or takeaway. Open: 6:30am till late. Piccadilly Gardens Rosia Road, Tel: 20075758

e to wher drink & eat the on k Roc

informal food Raj’s Curry House Raj’s tasty Indian cuisine is now available to eat in or take away, from his new fully refurbished premises in Queensway Quay next to the Waterfront. Serving authentic dishes such as Creamy Butter Chicken, Bhuna King Prawn or Chana Masala, and so much more. There is something available to suit all tastes. Pop in or telephone for food orders or table reservations. Open: food served 7 days 11am- 3pm, 6pm-late Raj’s Curry House Queensway Quay. Tel: 200 46993

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

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

Verdi Verdi All day coffee plus all homemade and delicious vegetarian and vegan dishes, fresh baked bread and desserts. A selection of bagels (try the smoked salmon and cream cheese) and salads to eat in or take away. Try the light homemade pizzas, or the falafels and humous. Daily special soups are fabulous and filling. Ask for Idan's hot homemade chilli relish — sweet and scrummy. Open: Mon/Thurs: 7.30-6, Fri 7.30-5, Sun 10-3. Verdi Verdi ICC, Casemates Tel: 200 60733

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food & drink

directory All’s Well

Gibraltar Arms

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

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

All’s Well Casemates Square. Tel: 200 72987

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

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

Cannon Bar Jane is still there and still packed out with tourists and regulars! Word has it that she nearly managed to escape, but wasn’t allowed to. The famous fish and chips, the odd French speciality, there’s always something happening in the Cannon! Located between Marks & Spencer and the Cathedral just off Main Street. Cannon Bar 27 Cannon Lane. Tel: 200 77288

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Jury’s Café-Wine Bar Next to the Law Courts, with a terrace seating area, Jury’s has a selection of Ciabattas, paninis, baguettes and wraps, plus popular sharing dishes, such as Your Honour’s platter. Jacket potatoes, main courses, pasta and some innocent salads too. For those with a sweet tooth, there are tantalising homemade desserts, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, as well as Lavazza coffees and frappes. Open: 7am-midnight Mon-Sat, 9am-midnight Sun. Jury’s Café & Wine Bar 275 Main Street. Tel: 200 67898

Lord Nelson Bar/brasserie in Casemates. Done out like Nelson’s ship. Starters & snacks include fresh mussels, blue cheese and rocket bruschetta, potato skins, spicy chicken wings and calamares. Main courses from chilli con carne and chicken & mushroom pie, to crispy duck burrito and fish & chips. Jackets, burgers and kid’s menu. Live music on stage nightly. Spacious terrace. Open: 10am till very late. Lord Nelson Bar Brasserie 10 Casemates Tel: 200 50009 Visit: www.lordnelson.gi

e to wher drink eat & the on k Roc

bars & pubs O’Reilly’s Traditional Irish bar with full HD sports coverage and Irish breakfast from 7am (Sunday from 9am). Guinness on draught. Food includes salads, jackets, beef & Guinness pie, Molly’s mussels, drunken swine, Boxty dishes (potato pancake wrapped around delicioius fillings), sandwiches, rolls, Kildare chicken and much much more. And just like in Ireland there’s no smoking inside, so a great atmosphere for all. O’Reilly’s Ocean Village. Tel: 200 67888

Star Bar

Gibraltar’s oldest b a r, j u s t off Main St. Small cosy and famous for its full English breakfast from 7am (9am on Sunday). A full menu including fish & chips, until 10pm. The home of Star Coffee, draught beers include Heineken, Old Speckled Hen, Murphys and Strongbow cider. Managed by Hunter Twins from Stafford, England, also home to Med Golf & Tottenham Hotspur supporters club. Star Bar Parliament Lane. Tel: 200 75924 Visit: www.starbargibraltar.com

The Three Owls The Three Owls is a traditional bar serving best of English beers. Three separate bars/ floors: ground floor — big screen TV, pool table, poker machines, bar — open from 10.30am daily. First floor ‘Hoots’ bar, two match pool tables, poker machines, dartboard, bar, open from 5pm daily. Second Floor the ‘Nest’ — American pool table, poker machine, card table, bar — open from 7pm daily and also at weekends for the Rugby Union matches. If you are looking for a sociable game of pool or darts this is the place to be. The Three Owls Irish Town. Tel: 200 77446 GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • APRIL 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)

TASTY INDIAN CUISINE

Queensway Quay Marina, Tel: 200 61118

restaurant &bar guide

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

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;˘ MAY 2015

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

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

Treatment of Back Pain, Neck Pain, Headaches, Limb Pain & Sports Injuries Tel: 200 44226 ICC Suite F5C 1st Floor, Casemates, Gibraltar Member of British Chiropractic Association

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 • MAY 2015

fashion

shopping & gifts

Gibraltar Magazine

Retail& Activities

events leisure & sport

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

GACHE & CO LTD EST. 1830

• Giftware • Jewellery • Sports Trophies • Awards & Engravers

266 Main St, Gibraltar Tel: 200 75757

travel & hotels

Queen’s Hotel Gibraltar

newsagents/books

Excellent Prices • Centrally Located • Easy Access • Parking • Bar • Restaurant

hair & beauty CRAFT CLASSES - PHONE FOR INFO

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

Tel: (+350) 20074000 Fax: 20040030

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

lessons & tuition FROST LANGUAGE CENTRE (registered in Gibraltar)

Professional Spanish Teacher All levels, singles, groups or Skype

Tel: 200 73786

Call Margaret Tel: 0034956173384 Mobile: 0034609717296 Email: margaretjf13@gmail.com

photography

Archive editions of The Gibraltar Magazine now available online at www.thegibraltarmagazine.com

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

business