1
DEAR FRIENDS...
Who’s
Upon this Rock magazine is published by EuropeAxess Media, Gibraltar. Editor Fr. Stuart Chipolina: editor@uponthisrock.eu Production Editor: A. Sargent angela@europeaxess.com
Lose the ego, and learn to serve, only then can we can be filled with God’s power and love.
Cover: Right Reverend Dom Aidan Bellenger, Abbot of Downside
To advertise: This magazine is hand delivered to homes, churches, hospitals and many businesses around Gibraltar every month. Copies are sent abroad far and wide, to the Falklands, North of Scotland, USA and Malta. To discuss your advertising requirements call Tel: 200 79335. Church Groups or Charities: If you would like to have an article considered for publication, please send it by e-mail to the production editor at the address above. Enquire for details of sending high resolution digital images to illustrate your article.
There can be no share in God’s glory without the cross. When Jesus prophesied his own betrayal and crucifixion, it did not make any sense to his disciples because it did not fit their understanding of what the Messiah came to do. And they were afraid to ask further questions! Like a person who might receive a bad verdict from the doctor and then
Editorial is selected by EuropeAxess Media in liaison with the Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar. Neither of these parties is responsible for the accuracy of the information contained herein, nor do the views and opinions expressed herein necessarily reflect the views and opinions of either party. Advertisers are not endorsed by virtue of advertising in this magazine. EuropeAxess Media reserves the right to refuse space to any submissions or advertisements.
2
refuse to ask further questions, they, too, didn’t want to know any more. How often do we reject what we do not wish to see? We have heard the good news of God’s word and we know the consequences of accepting it or rejecting it. But do we give it our full allegiance and mold our lives according to it? Ask the Lord to fill you with his Holy Spirit and to inspire within you a reverence for his word and a readiness to obey it. How ashamed the disciples must have been when Jesus overheard them arguing about who among them was the greatest! But aren’t we like the disciples? We com-
s glory do you seek?
pare ourselves with others and desire their praise. The appetite for glory and greatness seems to be inbred in us. Who doesn’t cherish the ambition to be “somebody” whom others admire rather than a “nobody”? Even the psalms speak about the glory God has destined for us. You have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honour (Psalm 8:5). Jesus made a dramatic gesture by embracing a child to show his disciples who really is the greatest in the kingdom of God. What can a little child possibly teach us about greatness? Children in the ancient world had
no rights, position, or privileges of their own. They were socially at the “bottom of the rung” and at the service of their parents, much like the household staff and domestic servants. What is the significance of Jesus’ gesture? Jesus elevated a little child in the presence of his disciples by placing the child in a privileged position of honour. It is customary, even today, to seat the guest of honour at the right side of the host. Who is the greatest in God’s kingdom? The one who is humble and lowly of heart – who instead of asserting their rights willingly empty themselves of pride and self-seeking
glory by taking the lowly position of a servant or child. Jesus, himself, is our model. He came not to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20:28). Paul the Apostle states that Jesus emptied himself and took the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7). Jesus lowered himself (he whose place is at the right hand of God the Father) and took on our lowly nature that he might raise us up and clothe us in his divine nature. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). If we want to be filled with God’s life and power, then we need to empty ourselves of everything which stands in the
C O N T E N T S 2. Fr. Stuart on Service with Humility 4. Dom Aiden Bellanger visits Gibraltar for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 5. More information about Our Lady of Europe Jubilee Competitions 6. Sister Aoife looking back at and forward to the Diocesan Crib Competitions 7. Anne Mesilio sees the relevance of The Feast of the
way – pride, self-seeking glory, vanity, etc. God wants empty vessels so he can fill them with his own glory, power, and love (2 Corinthians 4:7). Are you ready to humble yourself and to serve as Jesus did? God Bless You Fr Stuart
Presentation in todays world. 8. Love and St. Valentine 10. Mary Dolding talks about the history of the Gibraltar Society for Cancer Relief 12. Top Marks for Carl Gauss 14. A Special Mass for those touched by Breast Cancer 15. Calpe House, home from home for those receiving medical treatment in London.
3
2009 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
“Listen and Pray” Dom Aidan Bellenger, Abbot of Downside, preaches at the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
What do we mean? When we talk about Christian Unity? The Rt. Rev. Dom Aidan Bellenger described four views of Unity. Firstly there is the triumphalist view and from a Catholic perspective this would see the Archbishop of Cantebury reunited back into the Church and submissive to the Holy Father. This is not really acceptable to other Christian denominations at this time. Then there is the route of compromise, where everything may be watered down, committee led.
til his death in 1996. Auxiliary Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Rev Tom Williams, said when the work was commissioned: “I am delighted the work of Archbishop Derek Worlock and Bishop David Sheppard is to be commemorated in this memorial. The two Anglican and Catholic Cathedrals in Liverpool are linked by a road, co-incidentally called Hope Street, and the statue was sited at the corner of this and Hope Place. At Pentecost, there is a Walk of Witness between the two Cathedrals, so Hope Street is the ideal setting for the memorial. It gives visible witness to the ecumenical partnership which, along with the Free Church Leaders, the Bishop and Archbishop fostered. The sculpture will form a permanent remembrance of the unity they encouraged. The funds for the memorial were raised by the people through an appeal in a local newspaper, which produced a budget of £60,000 for the work. This again
This would perhaps result in a united church that nobody was really happy with. “What has perhaps proved easier, than either of the above is where we are United in working together.” explained Dom Aidan. “There are many examples of successful co-operation between Christian denominations.” Dom Aidan went on to mentioned the work of Catholic Archbishop Derek Warlock and Anglican Bishop of David Sheppard in Liverpool’s inner city in the 70’s with its history of fierce sectarian rivalry and social depravation at that time. This was so successful that recently a statue commemorating the lives of these two chuch leaders was commissioned. David Sheppard was ordained in 1955 after a cricketing career which saw him captain the England team. He became the 6th Bishop of Liverpool in 1975, and after retirement sat as a Labour peer. Derek Worlock was Archbishop of Liverpool for 30 years un-
indicates the high regard with which the two leaders were held by the lay people of the city. The fact that this story also mentions the Free Church, brings us back to another point that Dom Aiden wanted to make, from the Rule of St Benedict, the importance of listening in humility. Listening not only to established big institutions, but also to little people, perhaps smaller churches, that may be helpful when working towards unity. The fourth view of Unity Dom Aidan discussed was where denominations could come together to pray. Events like this Week of Prayer would have been impossible 100 years ago, and difficult 50 years ago, for instance, praying the Our Father together with other Christian denominations at public events was banned. However we have come a long way since then, and perhaps it is valuable to look not so much at the mountain ahead we have to climb to reach a perfect unity but at how far we have travelled from discord. So we can work together successfully as Sheppard and Warlock proved, and increasingly we are able to pray together. The Solemn Evensong at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity was well attended, with participation from the clergy across the Christian denominations, the service was beautiful, with candles being lit by members of the congregation, song brought down from the altar to the nave and hospitality afterwards. Dom Aidan believes that it is in this spirit of true prayer, as its definition, a lifting up of oneself to God, and infusing everything one does with Godliness, being in a state of grace, Christlike, that it is then that we will find ourselves in Unity and will have left behind the barriers and obstacles that have held us apart in the past. After a Solemn Evensong Service, one of the events during the Week of Prayer, Clergy of different Christian denominations listen to the Choir sing “Let the Lord bless you and keep you” from the North Porch of the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity.
4
More details on the exciting competitions.
Jubilee competitions Open to anyone, with a Lourdes Pilgrimage for two for the overall winner and 4 Netbooks to be won.
Our Lady of Europe Art and Drama Jubilee Competitions are aimed at fostering creativity through participation in and appreciation of the arts. Art, Word and Music entries may be invited to contribute to the Jubilee Celebrations, in print or performance Winning entries will be exhibited at the Catholic Community Centre then at the Shrine of Our Lady of Europe exhibition hall which is open to the public free of charge throughout the year, on the website: ourladyofeurope. net and published in the Shrine Messenger and Upon this Rock magazines The closing date for the Art, Music and Word competitions is the 23rd of March 2009, but the Film category has been given an extended period Theme This competition actively seeks original creative art projects that address the relationship between our faith and our daily lives within two main themes, ‘Europe’ and ‘700 years past, 700 years future’. Submissions using drawing, painting, static digital imagery, photography, film, new media, sculpture, installation, words, song, music, or any hybrid format are welcom Works that are the result of personal inquiry or independent research are actively encouraged, as are entries that are produced in collaboration. Format The wide range of forms and the different possibilities for an aesthetic realization of the themes are of great importance for the Jubilee Celebrations. Entrants are invited to choose from the following categories. Hybrid works should be entered under on of these categories: ART: Comprising: Drawing,
Painting, Static Digital Imagery, Photography, Crafts, Sculpture. See Competition Prospectus for entry guidelines and sizes. WORDS: Comprising: Short Stories of up to 1000 words. Songs, Poems or Plegaria of not more than 42 lines. FILM: Comprising: Films, animation and new media. As live action, documentary or animation. Presentations should not be more than 10 minutes long. In order to allow film entries to include footage from the Our Lady of Euorpe 700 Anniversary Celebrations in May the deadline for submissions will be 1st June 2009 MUSIC: Comprising: Original compositions either vocal, instrumental or hybrid of not more than 4 minutes. Registration. Registration takes place at the Catholic Multimedia Centre at the Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned, Main Street, Gibraltar. Entry Fee of £5 per application should be paid on registration. Each applicant can enter up to three works, but each must be accompanied by a separate entry form and fee. Entrants will be given a registration number which should be clearly marked on their entry on presentation. No other identifying marks should appear on the work. Rules of Entry The Jubilee Competitions are open to anyone. Entries must be entirely the work of the entrant and must never have been published, self-published, published on any website or online forum, broadcast nor winning or placed in any other competitionWork must be exhibition-ready. A selection committee of local
OUR LADY OF EUROPE ART AND DRAMA Jubilee Competitions
1. Art: Painting, Photography and Crafts. 2. Words: Writing, Poetry, Song Lyrics 3. FILM: DVD, Powerpoint, New Media 4. MUSIC: Own Composition, Vocal, Instrumental.
Entry forms available at the Catholic Multimedia Centre at the Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned. Main Street from 1st February 2009. competition administrators will choose the works to be accepted for judging. The main language of the Competition is English, entries in Spanish are acceptable. Translations should be provided for other languages. Entry Closing Dates The deadline for ART, WORDS and MUSIC submission is Monday 23rd March 2009. The deadline for FILM submissions is Monday 1st June 2009.
5
The Competition Prospectus, including guidelines, specifications for each category, entry requirements, closing dates, prizegiving dates, venues and prizes is available from the Catholic Multimedia Centre at the Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned, Main Street Gibraltar. The Competition Prospectus may also be available online to download from the website at ourladyofeurope.net.
Christmas is not just for Christmas
Sister Aoife Hynes
Christmas Reflection Sister Aoife looks back on, and forwards to, the annual Diocesan Christmas Crib Competition
When I got a phone call inviting me to join the team of judges for this competition, I accepted gladly. I began to familiarise myself with the rules and standards of the competition and the way points were allocated. The organisers had already made appointments with the entrants and planned a route map and a timescale. I foresaw two busy, interesting days, going to the schools, workplaces and homes and thought to myself “I’m not going to have much time for prayer during these days” How wrong I was! As we said good bye to the final
their presentation, the whispered answer was “the baby Jesus”. Other Middle school entries drew on growing skills in art, DVD presentation and historical appreciation to highlight how the well-known story can be told in modern ways. The world Jesus entered at birth is still with us in its goodness and its frailty. The message I heard was ‘Rejoice, be glad, be responsible’ Many of the cribs presented wonderful panoramas. The beauty of our world, mountains, rivers, meadows, animals, birds, sky, starlight, rising Sun; palaces, huts, stables, rabbit
entrant, I found myself thinking “I’ve been, we’ve been contemplating the Christmas story for two whole days!” Let me explain a little. We began in First and Middle schools. In some cases, each child had created a figure.... a star, a lamb, an angel …. and had placed it as part of the whole or had dressed up to play the role. Rejoicing in their individuality and creativity and in the results of their shared effort, they were also demonstrating the power of shared effort, of community. Yet when asked what was most important in
hutches………impossible to name all. Lights shone, streams flowed, palm trees flourished, fish swam (real ones!). Space had been made, - other pictures and ornaments stored, tops of filing cabinets cleared, room made on a tidied desk, a corner of patio turned into Bethlehem, classrooms re-arranged, free wall space adorned with artistic creations and displaying posters with challenging thoughts. Why was I thinking “and they said ‘there was no room in the inn’ ? I was reminded of so many of the psalms of praise…. Heaven and earth so closely interconnected…… the human and the natural world so intertwined ….. the busy world ignoring the reality of the Divine among us. Many cherished memories were revived. Some comments that entrants made gave an insight into their deep involvment with the tradition: “We began the first Chistmas after we were married.” “The kings? ..oh, years ago when we were on holidays” “He made all the palm trees” “Grand-dad showed me what to do” “ It is our first time to enter the competition. So glad” “ I love to do this every year”.
One crib had a special appeal for me. There the manger was centrally placed, light focussed on it, all the other treasured pieces were placed facing towards it. Gradually, I became aware that I had been listening, contemplating, sharing with others ….. thoughts about the birth of Jesus,…. memories,… hopes. I had been praying … all those two days. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED.
6
The day they take the Cribs down in Rome
Anne Mesilio
Presentation of Our Lord In a world that seems to be crumbling, this feast brings a message of hope.
When Angela mentioned that she would welcome a piece on the above title I was momentarily nonplussed. The Presentation in the Temple is the fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary, prayed through so many times in my life, often with distraction, not always with due regard to the meaning behind the words, but always I felt with good intent. Suddenly I was remembering Ruth Rees and her thoughtful book “The Rosary in Space and Time” where she advocates; “it is not an occasion for speed but for reflection, and in various apparitions Mary has said that it is better to pray one decade slowly and thoughtfully, rather than rush through it”. I then re-visited a book I have re read at various intervals throughout the years, one that has biblical echoes of “ St. Luke’s early life, manhood, his seeking” and we must not forget he was, first of all, a great physician of the ancient world. This book (eventually published in 1959) took its author Taylor Caldwell, for various reasons, 46 years to write, is entitled “Dear and Glorious Physician”. It was only after the death of Jesus that Luke became a Christian and sought out Pontius Pilate, Herod and above all,
Mary the mother of Jesus. Luke is credited with painting the first likeness of Mary. It is his gospel, chapter 2, verses 22;39 that tells of the Presentation in the Temple and the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This day is observed on the 2nd February, traditionally 40 days and according to Jewish custom, after the birth of every first born male. He has to be presented in the temple and dedicated to God with a sacrifice of thanksgiving, in Joseph and Mary’s case, two young pigeons, befitting their humble status. This was also a special time for Mary as it marked the end of her forty days of purification as set down in Jewish scriptures, Leviticus, 12; 1-4. It is worth quoting. And the Lord said to Moses; “Say to the people of Israel, if a woman conceives, and bears a male child, then shall she be unclean seven days: as at her time of menstruation, she shall be unclean. And on the eight day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Then shall she continue to bleed for 33 days in the blood of her purifying; she shall not touch any hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are
completed”. Mary and Joseph were fulfilling the Law, but this particular Presentation was unlike any others. Ruth Rees, “ In reality, this was the second person of the Blessed Trinity entering his own home and fulfilling the prophecies of the Annunciation when Mary was told that her son would be known as the Son of the most high, and that the Lord God would give him the throne over the house of Jacob eternally, and that his kingdom would never have an end”. This day was also a very special one for Simeon, whose age almost defies belief. He was a devout and just man to whom an angel had announced, 270 years earlier, that he would not die before seeing the Messiah born of a virgin. Simeon joyfully took the child in his arms and blessed God thus; “Lord, now lettest thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation……….”. The day was not yet over. Mary and Joseph had ‘marvelled’ at
7
Simeons words, but there were more, directed at Mary, and here I pause, to quail at the words, “and a sword will pierce through your own soul also”. A mother twice and now a grandmother I would have clutched my child and fled. Still the day was not over. Waiting was Anna, a widow of 84 years who stayed in the temple to serve God by fasting and praying. “And coming up at this very hour she gave thanks to God”. Luke; “And when they had performed all things according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee to their own city, Nazareth”. Is there relevance in this feast day today? There has to be, because with the world crumbling around us, financially, morally, environmentally etc, etc, there is a message of faith and hope here. We must have confidence in God’s plan for us, He is still in charge and we need to renew our belief in this. .
A New Dimension in Your Marriage
For further information contact: Eliott & Macu Dobinson T: 20079586 or 58008309 Ernest & Jane Povedano T: 20070976 or 54007961
St. Valentines
LOVE
“Roses are red, violets are blue, It’s Valentines Day And I love you”. Here we go, it’s that day again, of poems, flowers, heart shaped chocolate, romantic dinners for two, declarations of undying love, old and new, oh dear, that St. Valentine has a lot to answer for. As the cash registers ring up the price of all of this, Elizabeth Barret Browning’s, “How do I love thee, let me count the ways” comes rather (cynically) to mind in this consumer orientated society we live in. Not very romantic is it, well no, it’s not meant to be as I confess to a poor understanding of what is meant by romance. It’s not real, nothing you can actually touch, it’s just pure imagination,
SPONSORS OF UPON THIS ROCK
8
a glamourised mystery, whilst this thing called love, that silent language of the heart which lives outside our normal sense of time and space has a diversity of meanings. Cultural differences too help to make its interpretation difficult. The Eskimos have 32 words for snow, well, it rules their lives, and love comes way down the list. The Sanskrit, the world’s most ancient (Indic) language has 96 words for love, whilst the ancient Persians and Greeks had three, and in English, there is only one. Associated with this one word there is a variety of related, yet distinct meanings,
Anne Anne Mesilio Mesilio
often expressed in different contexts which must not be confused for love. Love is a complex concept to grasp and this quote (unknown) helps me; “Love is like quicksilver in the hand, leave the fingers open and it stays, clutch it and it darts away”. Worth thinking about. All culture and religions, both ancient and modern refer to love in various senses and romantic love has few echoes in, for example, Jewish literature. For centuries in the Western world we have written poems, plays, told stories, made films to try and explain this thing called love. Recently, scientists have likened the brain chemistry of infatuation to mental illness, ‘madly in love’. Is there a cure? Time, I suppose, but then Mother Teresa did say that-
“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread”. I cannot remember who said “When love is not madness, it is not love”. So, what is it? The poetry of the senses, a blessing beyond all fate, the greatest refreshment in life, self delusion, the dew that falls on briars and roses, a sweet tyranny, and above all, can it be cured by herbal remedies? Valentines Day is supposed to be a celebration of love, and in a society which seems to favour couples, it can be lonely for some. Romantic love then can be fairly exclusive; but even here all is not roses. The planning of how to celebrate the day can be stressful and yes, even disappointing as
who were asked to define love; one girl’s answer has made an impression on me. “God could
expectations are not met, and this is where being single can allow for self indulgence. The word love appears over 200 times in the New Testament and today we use the word in as many ways. We ‘love’ our families, friends, food, our country, our pets etc, etc, in ways that are as varied as the wildflowers in a meadow. Christians believe the principle of loving God with all your heart, strength and mind and loving your neighbour as yourself. In a survey of 10/12 year olds
9
have said magic words to make the nails fall off the Cross, but he didn’t. That’s love”.
The History ofthat a Local Charity. For more info see the new website A Community Cares.
Living with Ca
Mary Dolding
A rather sobering statistic is that 1-3 of us will get one of the over 200 types of cancer that are known today. The organs and tissues of the body are made up of tiny building blocks called cells, and cancer is a disease of these cells. It is not a single disease with a single treatment and Dame Cicely Saunders, (19182005) founder of the Hospice movement recognised this, “We have to concern ourselves with the quality of life, as well as its length”. A nurse, social worker and doctor she founded the movement to provide compassionate care for the dying. She established new methods of pain control and a multi-faceted and holistic approach to care giving. This approach is achieved in Gibraltar through the Gibraltar Society for Cancer Relief which concerns itself with the training of paliative care nurses, now known as Cancer Relief nurses, to provide hospice at home facilities for those in need. Mary Dolding, one such retired nurse, chatted to me and told me about the beginnings of this worthwhile work.
Gibraltar Society for Cancer Relief - serving the community for over 25 years in so many different ways. “I came to Gibraltar in 1971 with my husband David who was involved in building Glacis Estate. I’d always wanted to be a nurse, so when St. Bernard’s Hospital advertised for nurses in 1976 I applied and did my three years training”. She worked there until 1983 when as the result of a back injury she was transferred to the health centre. “My youngest child was 12 years when I started, and during that time I was also Commissioner for Guides, working with the young and healthy balanced working with those who were sick”. In her gentle easy way Mary recounted the history of Cancer Relief in Gibraltar to which “I have always been associated in one capacity or another”. I learned that in January 1981 Maureen Stansfield had come to Gibraltar with her husband and she began to work as a midwife. In that first year she became aware of quite a few young deaths from cancer, so thinking of her hospice background, she had trained at St. Anne’s in Cheadle, she decided to do something about terminal work in Gibral-
10
tar. Despite her enthusiasm and talks with various people, GP’s, clergy and friends she could not raise any specific interest at that time. Then in October 1982, at a Bible study session with an army Padre the subject of death arose and Maureen grasped the opportunity to put forward her hospice ideas again. This time, a lot of interest was generated. It so happened that the then Governors wife, Lady Williams, had asked a Naval Padre, Simon Stevens, in Gibraltar for only a short time, to undertake a survey on her behalf as she was interested in palliative care. This word comes from the Latin “palliere” to cloak, and it is any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of disease symptoms by preventing and relieving suffering and improve the quality of life in those facing serious illness. This was a timely interest as Simon undertook the survey which showed there was indeed a need. A meeting was called to suss out the possibility of opening a Hospice on the Rock and Lady Williams agreed
to support the scheme as long as it had the support of the hospital Administrator, Mr. Bromley. “Why did she need the administrator”? Mary explained, “He had to be involved because it is medical work and there was a need for him to take on payment of palliative care nurses, though Cancer Relief paid for a year, but could not meet the on going salaries”. However, at the first meeting at the hospital the proposed scheme was not thought viable, and when Lady Williams heard this she arranged another meeting at the Convent. Dame Cicely Saunders was invited to come and give a talk but this was not possible and Dr. Fisher came in her stead. He was the founder of hospice care within the NHS. He came and gave a slide show and talk at the Convent which resulted in the setting up of the following committee. It consisted of; Lady Williams, President, Lillian Pitaluga, chairperson, a barrister as legal advisor, a banker as treasurer, Maureen, Secretary, Mr. Bromley as medical consultant, a Catholic priest,
www.Cancer Relief.gi
Anne Mesilio
ancer
a Jewish businessman and two house wives. Meetings would be held at monthly intervals and the first one took place on April 26th 1983. What were its aims I wondered and Mary enumerated; (1) community care, (2) lending of equipment, (3) education and the possible addition of a day care centre and small two bedded unit. It was also decided to send a State Registered Nurse for training. The work of the Cancer Relief nurse is quite different from hospital nursing as their job is to support the family and help them nurse relatives at home, to work with the Dr’s in helping to prescribe adequately for symptom control and pain relief. This was certainly a new venture for Gibraltar and I asked Mary how it was received. “Negatively at first”, she conceded, “people would cry and say relatives could not possibly stay at home because of children etc, but”, and she smiled her sweet smile, “I was able to help them, it was quite easy really and gradually word spread and in my first year eight people died at home with their families caring for them”. “Men fear death as children fear darkness”, (Francis Bacon,) and to fear death is neither a sign of shame or weakness. Today, many people with help are willing to have relatives at home, and Mary believes; “the best gift you can give anyone is to let them die at home in their own bed, and” she continued, “as long as pain and symptoms are controlled”. I asked about the setting up of the Day Care Centre. “That was in 1984”, she recalled, “ thanks to
the TGWU, we started in Transport House having being told that all we needed were two chairs and a kettle. Well”, she chuckled, “we had one chair and the kettle so I asked Jose Netto, do you need that chair in the foyer and he replied, oh, take it Mary, and we were ready, we had all we needed to start”. It transpired the GBC social club was closing down so they donated all their equipment, microwave etc and the Forces sold them a rather large carpet for the princely sum of £I. “For that we needed a hoover”, and two ladies who had just raised some money donated it for that. “It was wonderful to have so much support”. From there, the centre graduated to the Lady Williams Day Care Centre in Devils Tower Road in 1990. At the beginning this building was shared with the guides of whom Mary was Commissioner. The centre opened three days a week and Mary would take along her patients. Lunch was provided, bathroom facilities were available and hair and nail care was also offered. Maureen Stansfield was the first leader, then Marisa Desoiza and presently Helen White. “This was much more congenial to our needs”, Mary enthused, “ we had a lovely garden and
access to the centre was easy too. Also,0our volunteers, 60 in all were outstanding in their commitment and care”, Mary spoke with real feeling. I could take all that on board but had to wonder if needs have changed. Mary explained that these days most people with cancer have changed from being terminally ill to those who have survived it, to those who are actually living with it now. The Cancer Relief nurse exists to help improve the lives of people living with cancer , as well as those of their families and carers. This is achieved by providing practical, medical and emotional support. The emphasis is certainly on the living, and the present centre is beginning to reach its ‘sell by’ date after nineteen years as it needs to cater for ever increasing and new demands. Since the guides moved out a new gym and library has been incorporated and there are aromatherapy and reflexology therapies also being offered. “We need a purpose built building to accommodate all these new demands and fresh awareness has to be raised. To this end”, Mary explained, “we are holding a year of promotion with events to be announced, as we need the continued support of
Marriage Care Gibraltar Counselling Service Tel: 20071717 11
the public”. Mary spoke about her dreams of new facilities she would like to see in the future for those requiring palliative care, and went on to say that there are already specialised nurses in hospital who have undertaken the palliative care degree and a lot of work does take place in hospital under their excellent care. The Hospice is a wonderful movement, but extremely expensive to run so for Gibraltar a purpose built building is the ideal answer. Mary is optimistic for the future. “Selena Victory has been appointed Cancer Relief nurse, we have some volunteers who have been with us since the beginning and are over 80 years old, but we still need a large band of volunteers to cook three course lunches, drivers, therapists, and maintenance as the centre enters old age. The support of the whole community, who fund raise to an incredible degree, is highly valued. Mary; “We have come a long way and we want to carry on”. She does not doubt that this will be so.
Modern Magnetic Data Management Document destruction and recycling.
Top Marks for Carl Gauss was a child prodigy, sometimes known as “the prince of mathematicians” and “greatest mathematician since antiquity”.
Gauss was born in Germany, in 1777 the only son of uneducated parents. According to legend, his gifts became very apparent at the age of three when he corrected, in his head, an error his father had made on paper while calculating finances. Another famous story has it that in primary school his teacher tried to occupy pupils by making them add up the integers from 1 to 100. The young Gauss produced the correct answer within
seconds by a flash of mathematical insight, to the astonishment of his teacher. His father had wanted him to follow in his footsteps and become a mason and was not supportive of Gauss’s schooling in mathematics and science. Gauss was primarily supported by his mother in this effort and by the Duke of Brunswick, who awarded Gauss a fellowship to the Collegium Carolinum (now Technische Universität Braunschweig).
12
In 1831 Gauss developed a fruitful collaboration with the physics professor Wilhelm Weber; it led to new knowledge in the field of magnetism including finding a representation for the unit of magnetism in terms of mass, length and time. The centimeter_gram_second unit for magnetic induction was named gauss in his honour. Degaussing is the process of decreasing or eliminating an unwanted magnetic field. The process also takes its name
from Carl Friedrich Gauss. The term was first used by (then) Cmdr. Charles Goodeve during World War II while trying to counter the German magnetic mines that were playing havoc with the British fleet. The mines detected the increase in magnetic field when the steel in a ship concentrated the Earth’s magnetic field over it. Goodeve developed a number of systems to induce a small “N-pole up” field into the ship to offset this effect, meaning that the net field was
Carl Gauss
Cmdr. Charles Goodeve
the same as background. Since the Germans used gauss as the measure of strength of the magnetic field in their mines’ triggers (this was not yet a standard measure), Goodeve referred to the various processes to counter the mines as degaussing. The term became a common word. Many kinds of data are stored in magnetic media, such as floppy disks and magnetic tape. The data is stored by making very small areas called magnetic domains change their magnetic alignment to be in the direction of an applied magnetic field. Magnetic tape is used extensively for computer back-up and security recordings. Problems arise when the data is no longer required, when the tapes are required for re-using or for total destruction. They are not suitable for physical destruction or shredding. Degaussing, leaves the mag-
netic domains in random patterns with no preference to orientation, thereby rendering previous data unrecoverable. There are some domains whose magnetic alignment is not randomized after degaussing. The information that these domains represent is commonly called magnetic remanence since it is due to remanent magnetization. Proper degaussing will ensure that there is insufficient magnetic remanence to reconstruct the data. Erasure via degaussing may be accomplished by applying an unidirectional field i.e., DC powered or by employing a permanent magnet, the field is measured in Gauss units. For volume erasure of high-density metal tapes and cassettes the Image Graphic’s SV5000’ machine’s performance exceeds the most stringent requirements. Automatically controlled by an electric eye the reels, disks or cassettes are placed on the wide conveyor belt where they are transported through the 4000 Gauss field. The SV5000 has been specifically designed to meet exacting performance criteria demanded and expected by security operations requiring safe, effective and secure management of their magnetic media. For more information about the Image Graphics Degaussing Service please call Brendan Roche on 20050449 or John Bell on 20051627.
Magnetic field amplitude of a surface-plasmon-like field that couples into a sub-wavelength slit in a metal film.
Shredding & Degaussing We offer a shredding and degaussing service for the secure disposal of confidential documents and magnetic data. For maximum efficiency we will collect these and take them to our Gibraltar facility.
• Strictly Confidential Service • Daily Pick-ups • Data shredded or degaussed in Gibraltar • A Certificate of Destruction issued on job completion Please contact Brendan (Tel: 20050449) or John (Tel: 20051627) for further information.
Sheriff Electrical Contractors Ltd.
Electrical Contractors Office 40/42 Cornwall’s Lane,
Tel: (350) 200 79353, Fax: (350) 200 74515 E-mail: sheriffgib@gibtelecom.net Fire Services Division 3 Cornwall’s Parade, Tel: (350) 200 40583, Fax: (350) 200 74515 E-mail: sherelec@gibtelecom.net
General Building Contractors
A. A. Sheriff (Wholesale) Ltd.
95B Harbour Walk, The New Harbours, Gibraltar
Retail 51 Engineer Lane, Tel: (350) 200 78065, Fax: (350) 200 74515 Wholesale Unit 12A, Watergardens, Tel: (350) 200 73083, Fax: (350) 200 40585 Planet Mobile Unit 12A, Watergardens, Tel: (350) 200 50063, Fax: (350) 200 40585 Offices 40/42 Cornwall’s Lane, Tel: (350) 200 40583, Fax: (350) 200 74515
Tel: (+350) 20043621 Fax: (+350) 20041272 Email: management@profield.gi
E-mail: sheriffgib@gibtelecom.net Warehouse Unit 14, The New Harbours, Tel: (350) 200 41836, Fax: (350) 200 46344 E-mail: wisco@gibtelecom.net
Tel: 20078509
13
Praying for those touched by breast cancer.
“Light a candle” A special mass in aid of those touched by breast cancer unites Christians and those of other religions in prayer.
On Saturday the 29th November, Breast Cancer Support Gibraltar held their second “Light a Candle” Mass at the Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned. Sonia Golt, organiser of the event, was extremely pleased with the outcome of the mass, despite the stormy weather. The Cathedral was the perfect setting for such a special occasion, and it was lovely to wel-
come other Christians and religions to remember and celebrate together, the service was open to everyone touched by cancer, from all walks of life. The idea of the mass was to light a candle in memory of those who have not survived breast cancer, and also to celebrate those who have survived. Chairman Isobel Ellul-Hammond mentioned to the congregation that the mass
could obviously be extended to those who had been touched by cancer generally, of which most of the congregation consisted. The mass was a huge success, as it was last year, where over 100 people attended; nearly half of them were breast cancer survivors. After the committee members gave all those attending a candle, and lit them, the mass started at 4pm where the congregation walked in a procession around the Cathedral holding their lit candles, before placing them on the Altar. Chairman of the Charity, Isobel Ellul-Hammond said a few words welcoming everyone, followed by Monsignor Paul Bear who officiated this beautiful service. All the readings were by breast cancer survivors, with Marie Barnes doing the Reading and Psalm, Mercy Posso and Carol Coelho reading the Bidding Prayers and Marie Ward and Moira Moreno doing the Offertory Procession. As always, Monsignor Bear’s words were kind, tender and very meaningful to all present, he held a beautiful mass. The King’s Chapel Singers led
14
by Wayne Smith, who was not able to attend due to illness and provisionally replaced by Chris Music, sang beautifully. The ‘Ave Maria’ and ‘You Raise Me Up’ proved to be very emotional for many attending. They sang six hymns which complimented the mood of the mass very well. At the end of the service five poems were read, these were written by Sonia Golt during her own journey through breast cancer and treatment. Very bravely, five survivors read: Isobel EllulHammond, Sonia Golt, Marie Cavilla, Gladys Ratcliffe and Maricella Zammit, who read her own poem. This was the most moving part of the service as many tears were shed both in sorrow and solidarity. The event ended with free mulled wine, made by the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, and free mince pies, donated by Morrisons, at the Casino Calpe for all those who attended the mass. It was a chance to catch up with old friends and reflect on the special memorial and celebratory mass that had taken place. A special mention must also go to Suzette Martinez and Audrey Stagno who helped out. We remember especially Mariluz, Audrey’s mum, Janice and Michelle, who were always in our hearts during the “Light a Candle” Mass, and pray for all those receiving treatment and recovering from this disease.
Louis J. Lombard
Count your blessings How true it is that generally speaking, we tend not to count our blessings.
This happens with everything in life, we often value things when we no longer have them. Here in Gibraltar we are blessed in so many ways, something we normally realise when we travel and obviously we compare, no matter how great or how nice the place we are visiting may be. What a joyful experience it is, when after having been away for some time we come back and get a glimpse of the rock as we approach Gibraltar, we even think of the nice cup of tea we are going to enjoy when we get home, which we have missed so much, for no matter where we go, tea at home always seems to taste better. Of all the blessings we enjoy here in Gibraltar, I would like
to mention a specific one, which some of us, fortunately or unfortunately, may have had the opportunity to enjoy or make use off. I am referring to Calpe House in London, or should I say “our” Calpe House in London. When one has to go to London for medical reasons, what a comfortable relief it is to be able to find accommodation in Calpe House. No wonder it is known as: Gibraltar’s Home from Home in London. The person who needs medical attention, benefits from staying in Calpe House, the same way as when he or she benefits from a doctor, with good bedside manners. I have recently and in the past made use of this wonderful asset. I would very much like to pay tribute to The Calpe House Trust, especially Mr. Charlie Tilbury, the Chair Person, who is at the helm of allocating accommodation and conducting the affairs of the house, from his little office, in the Community Care premises at Coaling Island, and who always goes out of his way to help all those who apply
to be accommodated in Calpe House. Charlie has been dealing with this responsibility for the past 17/18 years. I must also mention the house manageress, Ms Margaret North, who assists Charlie at the other end in London, also in her little office in Calpe House, all the time in contact with Charlie, so that things run smoothly, at her end, and always willing to give a helping hand, in so many
15
different ways, to all those of us who have had the need to go to Calpe House. I am certain I am voicing the wishes of Gibraltar as a whole, when I say: A BIG THANK YOU, TO BOTH OF YOU, ON BEHALF OF GIBRALTAR. May I finish by wishing, that God may continue to bless them both and that they may continue with the sterling work that they are doing.
16