NFT WORLD GOES APE
THE LATEST CRAZE TALKING TIKTOK AND YOUTUBERS
PACKAGE HOLIDAYS PETE’S TRAVELS
CONTINUING WHAT HE STARTED
I have rewritten this letter more times than I can count. It’s the hardest one I’ve had to write – because it is my last.
After 4 years and 4 months, barrels of laughs, buckets of tears, and plenty of patience, I’ve decided it’s time to hang up my editorial cap in pursuit of pastures new.
The magazine has undergone quite some evolution since its inception in 1995. Some of you may remember the old A4 publication – staple bound, as it was back then. The next iteration saw a logo change and a smart black spine in which the magazine’s categories were listed. A decade later, the ‘bookmark’ logo was introduced onto the cover (the design of which we still use to this day, to open each of our four magazine sections: Business, Life, Scene, and Leisure). And finally, Gib Mag adopted its present diminutive size and bolder logo – my final stamp on this prestigious magazine.
I can say with sincerity that I’m extremely proud of what we’ve done with this incredible publication. I am chuffed, and honoured, to have been part of it all for 51 issues.
Thanks must be given to the wonderful people around me who made it all possible: our brilliant team of contributors, for supplying top-notch interviews, fun features, and a constant stream of informative articles; our pool of talented photographers; and our advertisers, for choosing our publication as the vehicle in which to promote their business.
A very special thanks to Justin (and to Lina before him) who has been by my side throughout 37 of these issues, turning the sketches of a madwoman into graphic masterpieces, and who I hope will continue to do great things with Gib Mag. Thank you, and sorry, in equal measures. But my, haven’t we had fun?
And of course, to you dear reader, without whom none of this would exist. Thank you.
Goodbye, facebook.com/gibmag twitter.com/gibmag instagram.com/thegibraltarmagazine
EDITOR: Sophie Clifton-Tucker editor@thegibraltarmagazine.com
DESIGN: Justin Bautista design@thegibraltarmagazine.com
SALES: Advertising Team sales@thegibraltarmagazine.com
DISTRIBUTION: DHL martin@matrix.gi
ACCOUNTS: Fiduciary Group www.fid.gi
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:
Eran and Ayelet Mamo Shay
Jorge v.Rein Parlade
Iain Triay Clarence
Liam Anthony
Jon Lewes
Andrea Forde
Elena Scialtiel
Richard Cartwright
Joel Francis
Carmen Anderson
Claire Spencer
Thomas Maxwell
Julia Coelho
Andrew Licudi
Pete Wolstencroft
Tara Coumbe
Views and opinions within articles are contributor's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the magazine.
The Gibraltar Magazine is published monthly by Rock Publishing Ltd
Portland House, Glacis Road, Gibraltar, PO Box 1114
T: (+350) 20077748
E: editor@thegibraltarmagazine.com
© 2019 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
LEISURE
71 In Praise of Package Holidays
74 Bonus Recipe: Porchetta
76 The Scoreboard: Latest Sporting News
79 Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons: England’s Most Iconic Hotel
82 Dynamic Denim: The Foundation of Our Wardrobes
86 Recipes: Creamy Mandarin and Orange Pudding & North African Style Stew
88 Information
93 #GibsGems
94 Kids Korner
95 Coffee Time
Don't forget to find the Hungry Monkey!
Kabir Advani, drawn by Elizabeth McCarthy
Katy Ramagge, 52 Customer Services at Healthwise Gibraltar
“Well, love to me is the core of life, the essence of all beings, the motor that drives our actions and the sense of home we all yearn for. The bond that connects us and transcends unconditionally. The beginnings and end of any sense we can make of this life in family, friendship, sentimental, spiritual or self, love is the key that nurtures all relationships.”
Tamara Gomez, 49 Residential Homes Manager
“The meaning of love for me is an unconditional feeling of affection, that I am unable to control. Willingly prioritising their safety and happiness above my own. Love is respect, acceptance, commitment and security.”
“Love to me means the precious joy that makes life have sense. Without love we would be empty. The heart is our main organ and when you have that deep affection for life it makes it meaningful.”
“Love for me is caring; valuing the other person’s happiness as much as your own.”
“For me Iove is TRUTH. When I am true to myself this love acts as my guide, and I can never go wrong. They say "the truth will set you free"...and I agree because it is through love that fear disappears and it is then that you'll experience, and share with others, a powerful reality that comes straight from the heart.”
Want to see yourself or your team featured here? Get in touch at editor@thegibraltarmagazine.com and we'll send you our monthly question!
Enthusiastic, creative, highly literate individual with the ability to work autonomously.
Required:
Excellent level of English Writing experience
Strong organisational skills
The Gibraltar Magazine is on the hunt for a new Editor.
Roles will include liaising with contributors and advertisers, organising print/distribution, and working closely with our designer to continue producing Gibraltar's bestloved community magazine. Can work from anywhere, providing it's in Gibraltar.
Do you think you fit the bill? Contact editor@thegibraltarmagazine.com with a copy of your CV and a couple of examples of your writing for the opportunity to be invited to an interview.
The historic Caleta Hotel closed its doors for good as 2021 drew to a close. After almost 60 years in operation, this came as sad news to the locals and tourists alike who had the pleasure of visiting this grand, seafront hotel.
Plans for a five-star Hilton Hotel have been filed to take its place, complete with 14 floors (12 above road level, 2 below) and 166 rooms.
A warm farewell to the hotel and all who worked there.
Whilst human papillomavirus infection is very common in the population, cervical screening is an effective way of identifying early changes in cells before they become cancerous. Cervical screening, also known as smear tests, are easy, free and potentially life-saving for women over 25.
Women over 25 years old will automatically receive an invitation to a cervical cancer screening appointment at the Primary Care Centre. Women aged 25-50 will be recalled for appointments every 3 years, whilst women aged 51-64 will be offered a screening appointment every 5 years. Any woman over 25 who has not received the appointment letter should call 56004698 to arrange screening.
What should women do?
• If aged 25-50 and have not had
a smear in the last three years; or aged 51-64 and have not had a smear in the last five years, please call the GHA dedicated number +350 56004698 to make an appointment.
• If up to date with cervical screening, there is no need to do anything as you will be recalled automatically when your date is due.
• If have just turned 25, automatically be invited for your first screening smear.
New legislation on derelict and abandoned vehicles to help regulate the misuse of parking spaces is now in force. Apart from the obvious concerns that they encroach upon public space, abandoned vehicles also pose an environmental hazard. Said vehicles will have a notice affixed to it, notifying the owner that the vehicle will be removed from the highway after a period of 24 hours with the intention of quick disposal.
Under the Traffic (Parking and Waiting) Regulations a person who leaves a derelict vehicle on a road or in a parking space or other place to which the public have access on payment of a fee or otherwise is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine at level 3 (£1,000) on the standard scale.
Any person owning a motor vehicle may dispose of said vehicle FREE OF CHARGE online https://portal. egov.gi/All- Services/DVLD/ DVLDDispos or by attending in person to the Offices of The Driver and Vehicle Licencing Department (MOT Test Centre) at Eastern Beach Road with a copy of the vehicle’s Registration Document (Log Book).
The GHA is delighted to welcome Professor Patrick Geoghegan OBE on his first week as the interim Director General of the GHA. Professor Geoghegan’s appointment is for a period of up to 18 months, during which he will lead on the ‘Reset, Restart, Recover’
programme for post- pandemic reforms of the Health Service.
Professor Geoghegan brings a career of experience in leading stakeholder-focused organisational change in the NHS and health institutions around the world. Since May 2021 he been instrumental in the development and initial roll out of the Gibraltar National Mental Health strategy and is already aware of the wider GHA at an operational level.
These stylish pups are loving their new Gib Mag leads!
Would your furry friend like one? Head down to 241 Main Street (Masbro) to pick up your very own – for free!
Don’t forget to take a photo and tag #GibMagPets for a chance to be featured.
Daisy Wolfie
Lulu
Mickey Jack
Rocky
Mother-daughter duo, journalist Jackie Anderson and Chartered Forensic Psychologist Ciara Wild, join forces to explore the issues of the Ripper victims in their place as women in Victorian society.
Who were the victims of Jack the Ripper? And what was the impact of his killings on women at the time, and over the last 150 years?
Jackie Anderson and Ciara Wild explore what Victorian London was like, and the impact that the Jack the Ripper story has had on how we have viewed the roles of men and women in society since. Examining the case from an angle not interrogated before, they discuss how a series of murders were shaped by the media and public discourse into a monster hunt that became urban legend.
Release date: 28/02/2022 | ISBN: 9781913913793 | Price: £9.99
The work of new charity, PossAbilities, will be able to efficiently and enhance and complement the provision already being given and will no doubt make a significant difference to the lives of many individuals with Special Educational Needs and their families.
While there were other plans for the old St Martin’s site, the Government believes that there can be few better causes that this one to justify a change of proposed use.
Minister with Responsibility for Disabilities, the Hon Samantha Sacramento, said: ‘I have been meeting with PossAbilities Director’s Nicole Stewart and Hannah Pilcher over the last few months, and they in turn have been working closely with the CEO of the Care Agency and the Head of the Ministry for Equality who have been providing support so that the introduction of this new initiative is successful and is complementary to those services that already exist. The energy and enthusiasm with which this project was presented to us and the collaboration that we have had means that we look forward to another development in the enhancement of facilities available to those with learning disabilities.’
On the Sofa with Rouge is a new Podcast launched at the end of January by Michelle Rugeroni. She tells Gib Mag:
“Leaving the world of broadcasting has left a gap in my life as it’s what I thoroughly enjoyed and during the 2 lockdowns I had time to reflect on what I wanted to do next.
I began listening to podcasts and was drawn to a series of talks called “Grounded with Louis Theroux”. I love his style of presenting. He has a knack of bringing out the alternative side of his guests even though the emotion and sentiment isn’t lost. I began to think it might be interesting to do something similar.
My guests are all remarkable which is why the first series is called “Extraordinary Ordinary People”. Listening back to the talks makes me realise how lucky I am to have such interesting, brave and humble friends and family. All the interviews are deeply personal to me because of my connection to the guests. I hope I do them justice!
The podcast is produced by Charlie Hurst, Sound Engineer (soundunit. co.uk) who has expertly guided me throughout the process, and the amazing artist Beatrice Garcia (beatricegarcia.com) who has designed and painted the fabulous podcast icon.
The Nautilus Project will be hosting their 6th annual World Oceans Day Competition. The theme this year is ‘Conserve What Our Children Deserve’.
Category 1 - School Year Group Award
• The year group project must be a joint effort and needs to have been completed within the 2021/2022 academic year. Examples may include:
A - The recycling/upcycling of different materials with an end result
B - Marine Environment Skit / PBL
C - Creating awareness of our coastline writing poems/songs/
Save Gibraltar Street Cats is looking for volunteers to help feed and care for their cats.
If you’re genuinely interested and are able to spare around 2-3 hours a week, please contact them on Facebook: Save Gibraltar Street Cats.
Thank you.
stories/letters etc.
Category 2 - Overall School Award
• School which has most reduced its plastic and carbon footprint. Examples may include:
Plastic Free School Events –Implementation of reusable bottles – Introduction of recycling bins – Composting/ growing your own/school gardens – Traffic free school days – Energy Saving practices – Upcycling. These can be submitted as power point presentations via email info@ thenautilusproject.co
Category 3 - Individual Pupil Award
• Lower Primary pupils may prepare a poster of their choice creating marine awareness. Upper Primary and Secondary School pupils should write a detailed account of how they have reduced their plastic and carbon footprint or research a marine animal found locally.
Lower Primary - Poster
Upper Primary – no more than 250 words
Secondary – no more than 500 words
All entries for this category should include Name, Age, Academic year and School with the submission.
Deadline for all categories 23rd May 2022
Prizegiving Ceremony: Alameda Prince of Wales Bandstand on 9th June 2022 at 19:00
The Director of Public Health would like to remind the general public that any person traveling abroad who wishes to take a form of proof that they have had COVID-19 may request a copy of their swab results from the Records Department at the GHA by email: releaseofrecords@gha.gi
The GHA’s Public Health department do not issue recovery certificates, but you may still request proof if you have had COVID-19.
For more information please visit www.healthygibraltar.org
Stained Glass windows at Central Hall were installed last month. The winner of the design competition was Sean Ballester with a piece titled ‘The Dance’. Mr Ballester’s design was commissioned by GCS who engaged with a professional stained glass window company and have brought his design to life. The trio of stained-glass windows will be a predominant feature at the Hall and will be
permanently displayed at the eastern end.
This is the first time in many decades that the Central Hall will boast stained glass windows, which were a feature of the site when it was used as a Church.
GCS would also like to acknowledge the work done to restore the original window frame undertaken by GJBS, and the support received from the Ministry of Heritage, the Gibraltar Heritage Trust and the Friends of Gibraltar Heritage Society on this project.
Sovereign Pension Services
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- The largest pensions provider in Gibraltar
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- Assisting the growth and sustainability of businesses in Gibraltar and beyond
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- UK Chartered Tax advice, specialising in non-UK resident UK taxation & Gibraltar taxation
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- Insurance offered in 28 countries
- Choice of 30+ insurance providers
- Offices in Gibraltar and Malta
Established 1987 in Gibraltar
The latest craze which has been sweeping the internet over the past few months has been that of NFTs. The term NFT is actually an abbreviation for the words non-fungible token (translation: a currency that is not interchangeable). Basically, it's a type of cryptocurrency on top of the blockchain network that represents a special asset (something unique). It can be a representation of something irreplaceable in the digital world such as: a type of particular contract signed or a digital image or a digital music file.
The singer Eminem is reported to have recently paid $450,000 (about £334,00) for a single digital image of the highly fashionable NFT ‘art’ brand the Bored Ape. The Bored Ape's digital image NFTs, including one with gold fur that fetched $3.4m at Sotheby’s in October, are more than just playthings for the wealthy; they are tokens of things to come on the internet.
To understand how such values are attributed to these NFTs, we must first understand the concept of a replaceable and an irreplaceable product: A replaceable product is a product that can be perfectly replaced with another product at the same level and appearance.
If I exchange a £50 note for another £50 note, there will be no real difference between them and I will not care which one I hold. The main thing is that for me the two notes are equal. As long as I have one of them, I am
indifferent to which one will be in my possession. In other words, the £50 note can be exchanged without a problem, since there is no difference between it and any other £50 note.
Something irreplaceable is created by a combination of three different factors and by doing so these factors give a certain value to the product. Here are the factors:
• A special product whose authenticity can be verified.
• There is a known shortage of product (single product or small quantity).
• The product is indivisible. For example, the famous sunflowers painting signed by the artist Van Gogh is an irreplaceable product. This is the only such original picture in the world. In addition, no more of this image can
be produced, since Van Gogh died many years ago.
From this we understand the concept of ‘irreplaceable’ and its value: The painting is special and can be verified if it is fake or not because there is only one such painting in the world. It is impossible to produce another such painting. The painting is not divisible- if it is torn to pieces it will drop in value and people will not want to invest in the torn painting.
Of course, many people have copied Van Gogh’s art, but there will only ever be one true original.
In the case of a digital product such as an image, it is always possible to make a copy paste of the image and thus create a cheap digital imitation that fits the original perfectly. That way no one could tell if it was a fake or not.
This is exactly where the NFT comes in that can solve the problem of copying and duplication in the digital world. This is how digital collectibles such as computerised artwork can be created on blockchain networks. With the help of the NFT protocol it is not possible to forge or change digital assets, and whenever you want to check who it belongs to and all the other information that interests you, you can see this through the blockchain on which the NFT is created. In this way it is possible to verify to whom the original digital asset always belongs and know that it is not the fake and is indeed the original.
Back to the Bored Ape collection, the creators played with digital scarcity. NFTs gain their value from not being identical (or fungible) in the way that bitcoins are. They use similar blockchain technology to cryptocurrencies, but each NFT is identified by its own string of code. The Bored Apes are a limited edition, with various expressions, clothing and accessories. As the makers put it, in a play on George Orwell’s Animal Farm, “All apes are dope but some are rarer than others.” That puts a premium on traits such as golden fur and laser eyes, which fewer than one per cent possess.
Gibraltar too has jumped on the NFT bandwagon and last May, Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar and the Gibraltar Philatelic Bureau Limited have issued a limited edition 2021 commemorative ‘Cryptocurrency’ postage stamp tied to the release of a blockchain based Digital Collectible, or nonfungible token (“NFT”) counterpart, exclusively produced by Coinsilium. The NFT collectible counterpart include 22 individual exclusively commissioned iconic images of Gibraltar, at 5 different levels of scarcity.
Moreover, Gibraltar’s pioneering position in the world, in terms of Distributed Ledger Technology regulations and its cryptofriendly ecosystem, is attracting NFT businesses looking to capitalise on this growing trend. Such businesses may need to register as Virtual Asset Service Providers under the GFSC’s recent guidelines, and Benefit Business Solutions Ltd can advise and accompany throughout this process.
Success in business is often about being in the right place and at the right time. Very much like in football, tennis or rugby amongst many other sports. In this article we shall look into two different companies that in its heyday were astronomically successful but they both made the same mistake of not changing quickly enough with major changes that happened in the markets and the result was devastating for both even if they are still around and operating as going concerns. The companies chosen are Eastman Kodak of Rochester USA and Nokia smartphones from Finland.
Eastman Kodak was founded in 1888 by George Eastman of the USA. The company started making inexpensive photographic cameras following the ‘razors and blades’ business model of selling inexpensive cameras with small profit margins and making large margins from consumables, namely
film, chemicals, and paper. Up until the late 70s, Kodak virtually controlled the film market with 90% of film sales and 85% of camera sales in the US. In addition, Kodak developed and patented the first handheld digital camera in 1975.
Way before that the Kodak company was a pioneer in photographic cameras. They launched a leather covered camera with 100 exposures with the famous slogan “You press the button, we do the rest”. Kodak virtually controlled the market for over one hundred years. Reason to be highly confident and to believe that nothing could change the trend winds.
But sadly for some and happily for others, trends do change and that is where the well positioned companies and entrepreneurs make a successful move. Kodak did not see the photographic tsunami coming with the digital camera era. They strongly believed that people would stick to paper and physical photographs and that the digital trend was a mere short-term fashion. This has hardly ever been the case in the past. When a great new idea comes up and makes a successful landing in the markets, it is here to stay and expand.
As a result of these changes and other trends in the market Kodak’s profits sank from $1.29 billion to $5 million at the end of 1997. Slow reaction together with underestimation of its competitors only made things get worse in the future. Whilst Kodak and Fuji saw the trend of digital photography taking over, it was Fuji that became slightly more successful in its diversification
But sadly for some and happily for others, trends do change.
strategies. Years later, with the sales of 35mm film having plummeted to disproportionate levels, in 2012 Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It took some drastic measures and major changes to put the company back on track. At the end of 2013 it emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a company focused on serving commercial customers. It was never going to be the same again.
Today Kodak concentrates in its new strategies, its core business being Print Systems, Micro 3D Printing and Packaging, Software and Solutions, and Consumer and film. Its present equity stands at $77 million. Had Eastman Kodak made drastic changes before the Digital era arrived, the outcome would have been totally different
and entering Chapter 11 would have been unnecessary.
Nokia is a Finnish multinational telecom company who was once a highly successful smartphone company. The company was founded in 1865 and went from strength to strength peaking in the late 1990s, namely in 1998 when it became the world largest vendor of mobile phones and smartphones. In year 2000 and onwards Nokia suffered from poor management decisions and lost its throne in the mobile and smartphone market with its sales dropping sharply.
After a partnership with Microsoft and eventually a sale of their telephone division to them, Nokia started focusing on its telecommunications infrastructure business. Certainly successful, but far from being the world’s biggest selling phone company. The reasons for this are complex to understand and explain but it has been concluded by researchers that Nokia suffered severely from
deep internal rivalries within the management. Greed and a lack of future vision perhaps? It certainly did them no favours and its competitors took advantage of this to launch their own brands namely Apple with their iPhone and Samsung amongst others. This is how it works. Being in the right place at the right time.
This is how it works. Being in the right place at the right time.
It's said we live as long as our name is still spoken, that beyond the years we spend on Earth, some part of us endures – a ripple in the thoughts and actions of those we leave behind. We are drawn to great influence, we are moved by great tragedy, and both give us reason to bestow long life on our brother, Kabir. ***
Last July, news reached Gibraltar that still, at times, feels unreal. The unthinkable had befallen an organised trip to Ghana with Help Me Learn Africa; following a successful project, Kabir Advani was found unresponsive in his tent, the day before he had been due to come home.
- Kabir was a doer.
Back on the Rock, desperate confusion turned to grief among his friends and family. A month shy of his 33rd birthday, Kabir had been taken from us. So young that his loss would have cut deeply regardless, but the impact he had on those around him, his importance in the lives of so many, saw the pain of his absence rip through the community. The crowds that gathered to pay their final respects were testament to the reach he had in life.
Companion, mentor, confidant;
only in the days and months that followed has it really become apparent how far his influence spread and just how many of us found comfort in the connection we had only with Kabir. Even beyond his immediate circle of friends, many have since recounted similar experiences and moments, of bonds forged by late night conversations, by his empathy and guidance. ***
Younger generations will know Kabir as the creator and organiser of Dazed & Confused, which showcased what he did best; a synthesis of his love for music, desire to bring people together and meticulous eye for detail.
Events run at a loss were no issue as long as everyone enjoyed themselves. When money started to flow, Kabir began channelling it to a cause that would grow increasingly close to his heart. The trip to Ghana represented the culmination of a growing partnership with Help Me Learn Africa; not satisfied with helping fund the work from afar, he wanted to live the experience, confront the reality faced by the underprivileged and be an active part of the solution.
The time in Africa fulfilled a longheld desire to visit a continent he felt strong affinity for. Messages he sent home conveyed a sense of purpose found and real happiness. Moreover, his intentions for the future were brought into sharp focus. ***
The project in Ghana was to be a launchpad for Kabir's own endeavours, learning all he could with the intention (as ever) of applying this knowledge in his own life. These were the first words of what was to be a new chapter.
Already there were plans to return, to organise support for people he had met. All that kept him from extending his stay was the upcoming, final edition of Dazed & Confused: 'The Last Dance', the end of an era. As he put it, the brand no longer represented where he was in life or his state of mind.
The uncertainty that coloured earlier years had given way to clarity. He grew as a man, grew in confidence and took steps to effect real change in his life. Kabir was a doer.
The life-long asthmatic who never played sports was now fitter than he'd ever been. The picky eater who refused everything except crisps on his first visit to India now laboured over his cuisine, scolding you for not eating healthily enough – a night and day transformation in some respects. More accurately, it was a hard-earned evolution. So, simply put, we can't let his efforts go to waste. We won't.
***
As the dust settled last July, Dazed & Confused hung in limbo and seemed destined to crumble without Kabir's lead. A spark of motivation spurred family and friends to pick up where he had left off and make the party happen, although public health concerns over Covid would ultimately lead to its cancellation. But there will be a Last Dance. More importantly, that motivation stemmed from a simple observation: it's what Kabir would have wanted.
The Kabir Ramchandani Foundation is born of this same
He has planted a seed, it is our duty to ensure it grows.
premise. Ramchandani for his family name, for his mother and uncles, for the grandparents whose love meant so much in his youth, for those who raised the man we knew. We will honour his name and let him work through us.
This journey begins in the expectation that we and the Foundation grow into a movement that Kabir would have been proud of. It's a high bar. We will first provide support to existing charities and projects on the rock, learning, adapting and planning for the future. Worthy causes in Gibraltar have been identified, while the intention is also to pick up where Kabir left off with Help Me Learn Africa.
There is a buzz of positivity around the table as possibilities for the foundation are discussed, for what we need to get done now, for what we may one day achieve. All the while reminding ourselves that, if we are going to do this, we need to do things right. It's the only way he operated.
Many of us now carry a piece of Kabir's light – it's a silver lining to the dark cloud of his loss. And while a deep sadness will always accompany his memory, the thought of who he would have been, it also urges us into action. He has planted a seed, it is our duty to ensure it grows. We are the people.
For more information on the Kabir Ramchandani Foundation, our goals and on how to support or donate, please visit www.kabirscharity.com, or follow us on Instagram or Facebook: @kabirscharity.
W h e t h e r i t ' s y o u o r a l o v e d o n e w h o h a s b e e n a f f e c t e d b y
C a n c e r , t h e C a n c e r R e l i e f C e n t r e o f f e r s a w a r m e n v i r o n m e n t i n t h e h e a r t o f t h e c o m m u n i t y w h e r e y o u c a n b e y o u r s e l f , n o m a t t e r h o w y o u ' r e f e e l i n g .
W e o f f e r a n u m b e r o f t r e a t m e n t s a n d s e r v i c e s t o h e l p a l l e v i a t e s o m e o f t h e p a i n a n d t r o u b l e s t h a t f o l l o w a d i a g n o s i s , f o r b o t h p a t i e n t s a n d t h e i r f a m i l i e s , i n c l u d i n g :
O r s i m p l y c o m e a n d h a v e a c u p o f t e a o n o u r b e a u t i f u l t e r r a c e o v e r l o o k i n g t h e B a y o f G i b r a l t a r . W e u n d e r s t a n d h o w h a r d i t c a n b e , a n d w e ' r e h e r e t o m a k e i t e a s i e r .
Joe Carseni wound up in the country often referred to as the ‘land of plenty’, of ‘milk and honey’ and where the streets are ‘paved with gold’! And much of that is true, if you’re willing to put your shoulder to the wheel and work hard – it’s certainly the land of opportunity. Despite that, for many people it’s also said that ‘home is where the
BY RICHARD CARTWRIGHT
ell I suppose in a way, it was music that got Joe on his way there...where?
The United States, of course! He left Gib with a view to ‘making it’ in the UK – following the same route so many did to try your luck in the music world. “Yes, I’d been singing for many years took part quite successfully in our local song festivals, met people with important connections in the music business and off I went to the UK to see how far I could get.” And it’s the usual story of getting there and being lucky enough to land a recording contract, have a few record releases (he recorded a couple of Albert Hammond songs amongst them) and perhaps do some radio and TV, tour the clubs, hang on for a time, a year or two, three or maybe more and
then...nothing! It happens to many aspiring, would-be stars: singers, songwriters, actors, dancers, painters and authors. We’ve all tried it, journeying down that often difficult road in search of stardom. And it has to be said very few – even those who are the very talented – are lucky... most are not!
There was one thing Joe had set his mind on for sure, and that was, not returning to the Rock...
not yet anyway. So Joe travelled to the US connecting with already established individuals in that country and began looking for work but not in the music business – It seems he had his fill of the music scene and it was time to move on and find a ‘real job’!
Joe moved to New York and worked in hospital administration initially. Later, the import and export industry came-a-calling. “That’s right; at the time I was based in the World Trade Centre. Well, I got a call and wondered why they wanted to see me, so I went and that’s when I really became fully involved in the import and export business.” Clearly Joe impressed his boss. There was a need to build on business around the world and in no time became Director of the
Living in New York – as you would expect – is expensive, so Joe took on as much work as there was available to be had to look after himself and a growing family. Weekends are free, so why not fill that in with some more, always needed income? So Joe took on a job that involved more travelling – he became a taxi driver on Saturdays and Sundays. “That was an interesting job which involved one or two scary moments,” Joe tells me with a serious look on his face, “I did that job for some time, made some money and then gave it up. During all of that time, I would leave home at 6am and not get back till about 10pm every day. It was hard.” As time moved on Mr Carseni became president of the import/export company
You need to come across really confident, as if you know about everything when in fact you don’t.Joe Carseni and Daughter.
when the big boss retired and later was confident enough to set up his own company which is always a risky move but he was brave and Callport Freight was established in New York by Joe Carseni! “In the States, but especially in New York, you have to be very aggressive in the way you put yourself across. You need to come across really confident, as if you know about everything when in fact you don’t, but that sells, and gets results.”
Joe reenforces the point that if you’re willing to work hard, the opportunities are there and you can achieve what you want in this ‘land of plenty’. But it’s clear you have to put in the hours – that’s for sure! It’s also true to point out life in New York doesn’t come cheap... “Too true; as a family man, it will cost you about 14,000 dollars a year for what they call ‘school Taxes’, which includes the bus service to and from school, policing, road maintenance, community fees and that sort of thing,”
Health insurance is another big one in the US. Joe says he pays 450 dollars a month for his wife and himself. He had 14 employees in his company which was another very big expense providing health insurance and salaries for them also. Meanwhile, Joe is grateful to Bernie Siegel of the Bernadine Shipping Company who has been a great help with regard to employment through to establishing his company in New York: “It’s all been through
really working hard, putting in the hours and achieving what you want. I finally retired just over six years ago. I’ve had some heart issues also and I really thought it was time to call it a day and retire from fulltime employment.”
Still part-timing as a Notary Public, organising the revamped Gibraltar International Song Festival during his trips back home for a few years whilst it was still active, and he also became a Member of the Gibraltar American Council in the Big Apple which was not unrelated to his other job as the Gibraltar Government representative in New York. All of which kept him more than busy – especially during the Rock’s representatives’ (Chief Minister and his entourage) trips to the UN, and whenever he was called upon to deal with the setting up of meetings and other matters.
But, as I suggested in my introduction, for many, ‘home is where the heart is’ ... “I have absolutely no complaints about the years spent in the States. I’m grateful for the life it’s given me and my family, I am also an American citizen, I have my children, who include one who is a NYPD police officer and another who works for the FBI, I have fabulous grandchildren and through hard work it’s all been good. New York is unique, there’s no doubt about that!”
So what’s the problem? Judging by what Joe tells me, everything seems hunky dory from his neck of the woods! Well, there isn’t any real problem, he explains, but since retirement just over six years ago he gets bouts of depression
and his heart strings have been pulling him towards his beloved Rock... “My wife and I spend three months here in Gib and three months at home in New York, but I want to come home and visit the kids over there, maybe for one trip a year for a couple of months or so, but the wife is not keen on that idea and prefers to keep the arrangement as it is at present, so we’ll have to see how things develop.”
Well, I said, keeping it materialistic so to speak, the stores are open 24 hours a day, you can get anything you want as ridiculous as it may be, there are fabulous shows running on Broadway, you can travel the length and breadth of a gigantic country with so much to see! “Yes,” responds the 60s and 70s nine-times contestant of Gibraltar International Song Festivals and winner of two of them, “but it’s not Gibraltar...this is my home, and this is where my heart is!”
Life in New York doesn’t come cheap...
In order to reach our goals, it always helps to have someone to guide us.
BY LIAM ANTHONYFebruary 2022, a month has already passed, and I stop to think about the resolutions I made back in January. I realise that I didn’t make any. However, I do have some projects and endeavours that I’d like to pursue this year, nevertheless, I am determined to avoid creating any unnecessary pressure. What I am certain of though, is that for my goals to materialise, I need some help.
We live in a society where help is readily available. Our phones possess a plethora of resources. However, whether your resolution for this year is to lose weight, start a business or even write a novel, nothing can compare to having a person close by to guide you. A person who can share their experiences; the good, the bad and the ugly and a person who you can both admire and feel challenged by. This kind of resource trumps anything that Google can provide.
I go back to the concept of help
that has always provided me with a much more meaningful perspective. A type of help that we have seen throughout the history of philosophy is to have a mentor. Socrates mentored Aristotle, Aristotle then mentored Alexander the Great, and without these teacher/student relationships, how would we have evolved?
I had my first mentor in my last year of high school. A university student called Rabbiah who was studying English Literature. I met her once a week to discuss my options after leaving school, my options were clear, I wanted to follow in her footsteps.
Each week we met in a classroom, we discussed the books I was reading, which were mostly compulsory set texts, nothing outside the parameters of a GCSE curriculum. What inspired me the most was simply having the access to someone who was living the life I subsequently wanted. A kind of life beyond school, where
I could embrace my intellectual curiosity regardless of my social class or where I grew up.
She became like a sibling figure, listening to my problems and answering any of my academic questions, but all in all, the mentoring scheme was in place to afford me a perspective that I didn’t get from a teacher at the time. Since Rabbiah, I have cultivated many mentors. Most of them have been teachers who I have known and learnt with. Without these teachers, who didn't feed me with the relentless notion of meritocracy, I now wouldn’t have the skills to think, to approach life with intellectual rigour and to question everything I see and read.
This kind of resource trumps anything that Google can provide.
One of my teachers, Carol, who on the first day of our A Level course, declared that she was a Marxist Feminist. She was faced with a cohort of perplexed sixteen-year-olds. I had no idea what a Marxist Feminist was. I asked her and she replied with an imperious "read about it".
Carol cemented the idea that to gain knowledge, a teacher ought to give you more. More of what they have studied, learnt and analysed. Her antiseptic approach to teaching was often difficult, but without her ambition for us, I wouldn't have some of the insights I have now. Furthermore, her honesty was something I truly admired. She was maternal, but in a more ambivalent way, meaning that if we had written a bad essay, she would let us know exactly why it was bad. Or, if we
had used secondary resources, most of which were available on the internet, she would tell us off that we were all writing and thinking identically. She wasn’t just preparing us to pass an exam, she was preparing us for the realities of life.
Away from the context of teacher and student, I often find mentors in the books that I read. Writers who I have never met yet have informed and shaped the way I see the world. Writers who operate like a talisman, or a reminder to see writing as a vocation. In her latest book Manifesto, the author Bernadine
Evaristo talks about her life and the racism and adversity she experienced. A book that filled in the gaps before she won the 2019 Booker Prize. Manifesto was how I inaugurated January, as opposed to making a list of my resolutions, I wanted the first book that I read this year to resonate with me for the entire year.
Nothing compares to having a person to lead you to reach your goals. Someone whose ideas and lessons you can refer back to whenever you need them. Yet, more importantly, someone whose ideas and lessons you can share. Mentors subsequently create mentors. As the Isaac Newton quote says, “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants”.
She was preparing us for the realities of life.
Gibraltar is looking up to find its way in the geospatial world of location satellite technology.
BY JON LEWESOn a clear night, a skywatcher when looking up will see an uncountable number of stars. Mixed among those nightlights are many of the more than 6,000 satellites which have been launched since 1957, of which some 3,000 are now inactive.
The Soviet Union's successful launch of Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2, followed in 1958 by the USA’s launch of Explorer 1, was the beginning of the Cold War Space Race between the two nations. That race has for some 60 years driven the competition in development of the satellite technology that now provides the benefits which are enjoyed today on the ground.
World travel no longer needs a map nor perhaps a compass. Now if a visitor gets lost while exploring Gibraltar’s hideaway places, GPS on their mobile phone will come to the rescue, guiding them to know where they are and to know how to get to where they want to be, perhaps to discover where the
nearest pub or restaurant is.
The satellite network proving the GPS connections is mostly occupying regions of the atmosphere known as the thermosphere and exosphere, with outer space referring to the expanse found beyond the Earth's atmosphere between celestial bodies.
The United Nations maintains a register of objects found in outer space and satellite-watchers can know the location of each satellite in the night-sky through websites open for public use, such as in-the-sky.org which tracks all spacecraft.
Back on Earth, some seventeen years ago, in June 2005, Google Earth, became available to use to travel the world but since cellular coverage was restricted by the limits of terrestrial infrastructure which only reaches approximately 15% of the planet, technology developers have had to find ways
to extend the reach. This need has led to satellite communications creating the required coverage continuity, and as a result, a new IoT (Internet of Things) category of communications has emerged.
The Internet of Things describes “physical objects that are embedded with sensors, processing ability, software, and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communications networks.”
IoT devices range from ordinary everyday objects in the restaurant, or home, where the fridge might be smart and daily affairs managed by digital personal assistants, Alexa, Cortana, and Siri, as well as providing sophisticated industrial tools with a connection.
The geospatial industry has a major role in the IoT process, with Location continuing to be the main application, followed by defence, infrastructure
development, commerce and finance and industry and environment management and habitat planning.
Iridium, the global satellite communications company, is “bringing everything within reach, providing access to voice and data services in the world's most remote places and close to home.”
In Gibraltar, the Global Satellite Group through its showroom and service centre is working with Iridium and other satellite communication global companies to, among other communications services and facilities, “provide merchant shipping, fishing, navy and leisure users with competitively priced, robust and reliable connectivity.”
Meanwhile, Gibraltar will be aided in the implementation of its Marine and Sustainability strategies by the world's first 3D
digital ocean map provided by Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI). The mapping sorts global water masses into ecological marine units (EMUs), assisting in reducing the risk of critically damaging or exhausting marine resources, preserving the world's fisheries, maintaining ocean sustainability and protecting marine biodiversity.
The Gibraltar GeoPortal.gov.gi offering a "different point of view", is an example of how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can assist in town planning decisions through layered mapping of Gibraltar.
That facility may be further developed with access to the pico satellites that are being provided by FOSSA Systems, partnered with international company WISeKey, set up in the Gibraltar local area, working together with Gibraltar.
Fossa offers low-power IoT
communications at a reduced cost “by reaching space in the most accessible way possible.” That reach is possible because their FOSSASat-1 is a pico-satellite, a “miniaturized picosatellite platform weighing 250g and measuring 5 cm/side.”
Unlike conventional satellites, the new generation of very small satellites, the picos and nanos, do not need a dedicated launch vehicle to carry them as the primary payload - “they are a bargain, being so small they can hitch a ride on somebody else’s rocket and so most of the costsaving comes at the launch stage.”
Chief Minister Fabian Picardo explains “We are excited about the potential of the LLG 4IR Center of Excellence which is expected to play a key role in accelerating the digital transformation across Gibraltar, be pivotal in enabling a paradigm shift for our operations through more digital technologies, while unlocking new business and operating models.”
‘Familia Romana’ becomes ‘Familia Calpensis’ with the ambitious project pursued in Gibraltar by a young family, whose pater familias is promoting intuitive teaching of Latin as a ‘living’ language, introducing his pupils to it in a manner as close as possible to how Roman children might have learnt it.
BY ELENA SCIALTIELFather-of-three Jeremy Duo, philosopher and theologian at the Saxum Institute, had his first stormy encounter with the official language of the Empire and the Church in University, but he soon figured that learning it the traditional way - declensions, conjugations, rules and exceptions, consecutio temporum and all - was not working for him.
Nevertheless, he soon realised how the study of Latin opens doors to a deeper appreciation of English, whose vocabulary is in large part of Latin derivation whether by direct descent of via the Normans, he says, and to the comfortable knowledge of other Romance languages, i.e. Castilian, Catalan, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian and their vernaculars.
“Mastering Latin can also lead to mastering the skill of learning itself,” he says, quoting one of the YouTube tutorials who most convinced him to dive head first in the daily life and adventures of a first-century Roman family, and sharing their story with a handful of eager students.
Furthermore, it allows reading great literature, with the perk of not only understanding what one is reading, but also being able to discuss it in the same language it was written, as if it was just another day at the Senate for Caesar and his posse.
Latin opens your mind to logical and analytical thinking, to be articulate, to see connections between words, through their common root or history, and infer their connotations, a skill widely applicable in life.
The Duo family is also involved in a pilot project of the University of Dallas that studies the potential advantages, methods and difficulties of parents interacting with their children in Latin in the long period. Jeremy and his wife Stephanie engage their fiveyear old son and three-year-old daughter in simple conversations, reading them bedtime stories and asking them questions using props and toys.
“My wife shows the kids a picture, and they can describe it with simple but complete sentences,
She was preparing us for the realities of life.
such as canis currit, when they see a running dog. They can point at characters and details in the picture, when prompted. This project comes with the bonus of using fine art as props, so while learning Latin, foundations are also laid for their artistic receptivity.”
The response is remarkable and encouraging, as the children are beginning to express themselves in age-appropriate simple sentences, and furthermore they can intuitively deduce parts of declensions and conjugations from context.
For instance, the children may be instructed in Latin to a simple task, while sometimes they even initiate the conversation spontaneously: “We had a recent addition to the family, baby Margaret,” Jeremy explains, beaming and gleaming with fatherly pride, “and one day, my son pointed at her when she waved her little hand, and he cried out: ‘Look, daddy! Margarita manum movet!’ which is noteworthy, because he even managed to extrapolate from previous conversations the correct accusative for the word manus. ”
The young family also attends Sunday Mass in Latin at Sacred Heart Church with Argentinian canon Pablo Piaggio Kokot, ICRSS, recently come to Gibraltar from Livorno.
Reading Familia Romana, written by Danish linguist Hans Ørberg, pueri et puellae of all ages will learn how life wasn’t that different from ours for Iulius, Aemilia and their children Marcus, Quintus and Iulia – well, probably the biggest difference is that we have
domestic appliances and they had… just domestics!
Follow them to school, the market and so on, listen to the fables their ancillae tell, and gasp at the treacherous destiny awaiting the family’s servus and his sweetheart fleeing to Greece, in a series of chapters designed to expand one’s vocabulary and fluency without having to resort to any bilingual dictionary.
The chapter dedicated to the convivium, where the family is joined by their friends on triclinia to share good food and poetry, introduces the reader to excerpts of classical Latin authors. The student can easily get the gist, and be pushed to further research.
With a students’ age range from schoolchildren to octogenarians, Jeremy is holding one-toone lessons to maximise the potential of each student engaged in conversation about everyday topics. He uses the ecclesiastical pronunciation, or Italianate, evolved the late Empire, the most common in Europe, while he says in America Latin is mostly taught in the classical pronunciation, the one of Caesar and Cicero. This may set you back
when watching different online tutorials, but the difference is comfortably bridged when reading the subtitles.
And if you're after a topical thriller this month, in which the outcry. ‘Et tu, Brute, fili mi’ resonated across Rome and was a gamechanger in Europe, Jeremy strongly recommends Pugio Bruti by Daniel Pettersson: “The story takes place long after the murder, when the dagger Brutus used to murder his adoptive father Cesar is passed down as an heirloom to the only daughter of a single father, who have to deal with the criminals trying to recover it.
To book your lessons, contact Jeremy on 54027488 or email jeremyj@saxuminstitute.com.
Details for applicants:
Open to ages 16-25
1000 to 1500 words
In English or Spanish
Any genre (short story, poetry, play etc.)
Must be set in, or somehow related to, Gibraltar)
Submit your piece to thenextwavegib@gmail.com by 15th March 2022.
Calling all young writers! Do you want to be part of the next wave of young Gibraltarian authors? Submit your work for a chance to be shortlisted and included in a collaborative book that will shine a spotlight on Gibraltar, worldwide.
The true story of the wrecking and rescue of a P&O liner near Gibraltar.
BY ANDREA FORDEIt was 4am on 13th December 1911 when Messrs Bland salvage firm in Gibraltar put out the message “Delhi ashore two miles south of Cape Spartel.” Stuck broadside on to heavy swell, P&O steamliner Delhi had a cargo some estimated at a million pounds, but she also carried 85 first class passengers including three British Princesses and a Duke.
Five das earlier, Princess Royal, Louise — eldest daughter of King Edward VII — had boarded Delhi with her husband the Duke of Fife and their daughters Princesses Alexandra, 20, and Maud, 18, at Tilbury Docks, London, to travel to Egypt for the winter. It was a journey dogged by bad luck from the outset. Storms lashed the ship all the way from London to Cape Spartel and, it was reported, the Bay of Biscay was so rough the Princess Royal ordered the captain to slow down.
As Delhi entered the Strait of Gibraltar the storms continued, and the thick fog made Cape Spartel lighthouse invisible. The captain slowed and took soundings while enormous waves broke over the vessel and water entered the cabins, spray engulfing the masts. The depth recorded 80 fathoms, then
Gordon, Marconi operator, sent out calls for assistance and fired rockets. The distress message was intercepted by French cruiser Friant, which changed course and steamed full-speed to assist. British cruisers set out from Gibraltar.
suddenly 15. He went dead slow, but the steamer touched three times, then stopped dead. The Delhi — a 470ft steamliner with a crew of 231 — was stranded with sleet making visibility so poor they had no idea of where they had struck until 2am. At 2am C.S.
Delhi had grounded on sand, so passengers felt no collision. Later a passenger described being asked to dress and come on deck at 12:45. “It was not till we emerged from below that we realised that something was wrong,” she said. The passengers made their way to the first-class saloon where they were served hot breakfast, until 10am when the Friant’s steam launch managed to approach the steamliner.
In treacherous conditions eight ladies and six children were lowered aboard, and the rest of the women except for the Princesses were packed into
It was a journey dogged by bad luck from the outset.
a lifeboat to be towed by the Friant’s launch. Despite the raging storm, and the tow rope breaking once, the crew of the steam launch succeeded in transferring all the women and children safely to the HMS Duke of Edinburgh, which had just arrived from Gibraltar.
Drenched by waves, the passengers were given blankets and hot Bovril by the Edinburgh’s crew. The gale raged violently, waves breaking over the Delhi throwing spray over 70 feet, hiding the steamliner’s masts in a veil of water. The captain of the Friant hesitated to send the launch a second time, but the nine-man crew insisted, pushing off to cross the water separating the two vessels. Suddenly, an enormous wave extinguished her fire and swept the petty officer at the helm overboard, washing the boat helplessly ashore. Undefeated, the courageous crew relit the fire and launched their craft again. This time breakers caught her like a cork and capsized her. Only six men made shore. The other three, two petty officers and a sailor, drowned in the surf.
Safely landed at Gibraltar, 39 women and children were accommodated by P&O at Hotel Cecil. “The Methodists here have been kindness itself, in fact, we have been almost killed with it,” wrote one passenger, Miss Coope, adding that the Royal party had a much worse time of it, which was true. While the other women and children were sipping Bovril aboard Duke of Edinburgh, it was
decided the Royal party would be safer landing to shore and shortly before 11am the three Princesses were dropped from the side of Delhi and caught onboard
a 10-oar cutter from HMS London, with Admiral Cradock directing from aboard. The princesses were followed by the Duke and passengers Gilbert McCaul Bell, Royal doctor Dr. Essery, and G R Halkett, cartoonist and art critic of Pall Mall Gazette. Only two items of baggage were loaded — the Princess Royal’s jewel case (containing jewellery and
The princesses were barefoot so progress was arduous.
a diamond tiara she planned to wear at the opening of Khartoum Cathedral) and the doctor’s violin case.
The boat was to tow a rope to link the ship to shore, but its increasing weight pulled the boat broadside to the surf and the cutter was swamped despite furious efforts to bail. All aboard wore lifebelts except Bell — Princess Alexandra fixed one on him, just as a wave washed her, Bell, Halkett and Dr Essery, clutching his violin case, from the boat. In the confusion Princess Alexandra was struck on the head by an oar, but Bell held the dazed princess above water while he swam to shore. The Princess Royal grasped her jewel case but its weight forced her to relinquish it to the shifting sands. She seized Princess Maud’s hand and, with the Duke and the Admiral, was washed towards land as the boat sank. The bluejackets ashore rushed into the shallow water to help them to safety.
Accompanied by four bluejackets the Royal party set out from the beach in torrential rain and fierce gales — drenched, cold, and clothed in nightdresses and coats — along the three-mile rocky path to Cape Spartel Lighthouse. The water weighed down the ladies’ cloaks and the princesses were barefoot so progress was arduous until they encountered two men from Tangier on horses, one of whom — August Harnung, editor of Deutsche MarokkoZeitung — lent his horse to the young princesses. The Princess Royal chose to walk assisted by the gentleman’s friend, Mr Rahlke. The Duke chatted lightly to Harnung who commented, “One might have thought we were enjoying a quiet country
walk and not the conversation of persons who had just escaped a watery grave.” They reached the lighthouse in driving rain at 2.30pm where they were given dry clothing and hot tea.
When Sir Reginald Lister, British Minister in Tangier, arrived at the lighthouse with mules, wraps and the Times correspondent in tow, the princesses and the Duke, dressed in his nightshirt and the lighthouse keeper’s trousers, were
warming beside a wood fire. The party mounted the mules and, with the rain unrelenting, began the three-hour ride to Tangier, ten miles away. The correspondent later reported, “Even during the last half hour of their long wet ride over the rough stony track, the whole party conversed with extraordinary vivacity, and related little incidents in their adventures which had struck them at the time as amusing.” They arrived at the British Legation in Tangier at 7pm,
where they received a message from Gibraltar’s Governor, General Hunter, extending the hospitality of Government House should they come to Gibraltar.
At 8pm survivors from the Friant’s launch arrived, exhausted, at Tangier’s French Ligation having made the journey barefoot in soaked and frozen clothing. Their only thought was for their drowned comrades. By 9.35pm salvage operations
were suspended for the night, three of the men-o-war’s boats having been smashed, as well the Gibraltar lifeboat, Royal Ark. The Royal Ark had been towed from Gibraltar by the Crocodile, arriving at midday on 13th. Manned by crew from HMS Prince of Wales with Port Department officers William Undery and James Noble, and Captain of Port, Commander Niles in charge, the lifeboat made four trips saving 49 passengers. During the rescues the lifeboat
capsized twice, on the fourth trip it was finally smashed on Cape Spartel beach, however, each time all aboard made shore.
In the following days at Cape Spartel, Admiral Cradock continued to supervise the rescue and salvage, standing waist deep in surf. The remainder of the passengers were landed by line rockets, being briefly dragged by their weight under the frothing surf, until they were hauled in by sailors who carried them to blazing fires kept alight by the local police. Transport animals were sent from Tangier to bring them in and, as the Delhi’s position worsened, the crew also abandoned ship.
By 18th December all passengers from the wrecked liner were in Gibraltar with the exception of the Royal party who remained at Tangier until 19th December when they arrived on the Rock at 10am aboard HMS Hampshire. The Royal party visited the Little Sisters of the Poor the next day, before boarding P&O liner Macedonia for the final leg of their journey to Egypt.
Many heroes received Gallantry medals for their part in the rescue, including gold medals for the crew of the Friant’s launch, silver medals for Rear-Admiral Cradock and Captain of the Port of Gibraltar, William Henry Niles, and bronze medals for Gibraltar Port Department’s William Charles Undery and James Scott Noble.
The Duke of Fife, died in Egypt, from pleurisy and congestion of the lung, a few weeks later.
Photo courtesy of @jmh_library (Instagram)
What better way to reuse the cardboard boxes from grocery deliveries than upcycling them as platforms for storytelling?
Retired primary school teacher and artist Corinne Massetti did just that: she turned her paper bin contents into illustrations for her dainty and dandy children’s book They Clapped.
“The first lockdown was a strange and eerie time,” she reminisces, “a time of uncertainty and concern. We stayed home, and had essentials delivered to our door. Soon, the cardboard boxes were stacked in my kitchen, and I wondered what to do with it all, how to recycle it. It seemed a shame to let it go to waste, to dispose of it after one single use. So, I turned them into my alternative sketchpad.”
She found herself reaching for the window quite often to watch the world from behind the glass. She marvelled at the quiet outside; nobody scurrying about, no sounds but the birds, and the smell of gasoline was replaced by the aroma of baking.
One day, she spotted a seagull on the rooftop opposite, and she wondered what the seagulls, and indeed all animals in Gibraltar and on Earth, might have made of the sudden change in their world, truly theirs again, now that humans were out of the picture.
Corinne also thought of what the children would make of the evening clapping: “Perhaps they thought people were clapping for kids? For each other?”
eyed critter, possibly a mouse or a gerbil, complete with stringy tail and an inquisitive, bemused, and cheeky countenance.
She wrote the story in first person, with no clues about names or whereabouts, to make the creature the absolute protagonist of this unique experience – the same one that Corinne was experiencing in first person too – the world as he/she knows it suddenly becoming his/ her playground to express him/ herself freely.
These ideas slithered in her subconscious and led her to jot down a series of doodles, unrelated at first, simple charcoal sketches in which the likeness of a creature took shape.
“I don’t know what creature it is, I don’t know if it is a he or a she, and I don’t know his or her name,” Corinne says, showing me the picture of a pointy-faced, beady-
The creature is portrayed in various moments of its adventure, while roaming silent streets and deserted gardens, sniffing heavenly whiffs of cake, and dancing to the music streamed out of cracked windows. “In my estate, there used to be someone playing the bugle, to herald clapping time at eight in the evening. It was moving.” Corinne continues, “So, of course, the creature picks up on that, as well as on the handmade rainbows displayed at the windows.”
With her collection of cardboard pictures growing, Corinne realised they were developing into a nice
"So, I turned them into my alternative sketchpad."
story, so she wrote a caption for each drawing, ending with the idyllic view of the creature strutting amidst flowers and enveloped by rainbow arc, confident and satisfied that those invisible presences around him are clapping for his/her graceful performance.
Hence the title They Clapped featured as the very last sentence, where some healthy egocentrism bestows this cute innocent creature with fresh charm – and its creator with the ingenuity and originality of a bubbly story for children to be shown the silver lining to the storm they have witnessed gather and dispel around their young existence.
her dad’s studio, charcoal and soft pastels to experiment with, to add to her array of acrylics and glittery pens, foil snippets and Chinese brush pens.
Proceeds from sales of this booklet, aimed at children aged 4 to 8, (and adults who are young at heart) are being donated to the EV Foundation, in aid of families in need in Gibraltar and nearby Spain.
Corinne was a schoolteacher in primary education, and she knows about the struggle to make ends meet for some families. “Kids with jam sandwiches in their lunchboxes day in day out, because they couldn’t afford anything more varied or nutritious”, she recalls.
creature. The cake was raffled and raised a nice sum for the cause.”
To keep up the good work, Corinne will be visiting schoolchildren to read them her story on World Book Day this March, and, who knows? Maybe she will bump into another congenial critter enjoying the ‘new normal’.
“They Clapped” is available for £5 from the Arts Centre on Prince Edward Road, or by contacting Corinne via her Facebook page.
The book was a happy accident, according to its illustrator and writer – yes, in that order, Corinne points out, because the illustrations were born first, flowing freely, turning a negative experience into a constructive one. And when she finally decided to approach the publishers, she requested for the cardboard feel to be preserved in print, so much that not just its brown colour, but its folds, corrugations and cracks are also visible in the final cut.
It is a tribute to her best friend Paulette’s father, the late Mario Finlayson, who introduced Corinne to fine arts. Paulette gave Corinne some art materials from
That saddened her deeply, in a society that usually boasts opulence, she is well aware that poverty exists. It seemed to her that the best way to give back to society was to donate to Nicole Jones’s foundation, and joined her at a cake sale before Christmas.
“My sister, also called Paulette, baked a cake and decorated it with a picture of the
"Perhaps they thought people were clapping for kids? For each other?"
Served in sophisticated surroundings at the elegant Rock Hotel Lounge Bar. Treat yourself to a quintessential experience.
3 Europa Road, Gibraltar
Events: +350 200 73000/events@rockhotel.gi
www.rockhotelgibraltar.com
BY THOMAS MAXWELL
February is the Chinese New Year and for this year the animal is a tiger, which stands for power and daring, well… drawing this is daring enough for me! For this month we will be honouring the Chinese New Year with a sketch of a tiger, and further try and help you with starting pieces on animals as it can often be quite challenging.
As with any art piece, the first step is to map out your subject. This can be done by taking a number of measurements of the subject and marking them on your canvas or paper. Animals are just like humans and have similar anatomical skulls, so similar methods you
HB Pencil
White Chalk
Charcoal Rubber
Toned paper
use for humans can be used for animals. I started by doing an overall size of the head, which I then split into three, top half with eyes, middle with nose and bottom with mouth.
Sometimes with such a light tool like white chalk, if it is put on top of graphite, it creates a dull silver effect. This can be useful later for some of the lighter fur but for now we need to start with the highlights. I find the brightest parts of the piece, making sure not to cover the entire space. After adding these layers, it makes it easier at a later stage to separate the light from the Dark.
Now we need to cover the fur that is not quite dark but is not white. For this, I put down a small level of light HB pencil, making sure not to press too hard. Unlike a Macaque for example, tiger fur tends to bend and curve, so I try not to make all the strokes to straight as otherwise you can end up with a tiger that looks like it just touched an electric fence. I then add a small layer of white chalk sparingly across this area, which gives that lighter silver finish that you can’t get with graphite alone. Here we then have three layers, the darker fur, lighter fur and the fur that is between the two polar tonal ranges.
Using the HB Pencil, I start to map out the darkest areas of the tiger, which is usually the fur on top of the head as well as the central features like the eyes and the nose. Making sure not to mix the graphite with the white chalk, I carefully go around the darker areas, trying to keep it loose. For me, I don’t need to do every single piece of fur so I keep my strokes nice and vague. It can be useful to make small markings as you progress to keep a separation between the darker and mid fur tones.
Now it’s a matter of taking our darker charcoal and marking the darker fur to make it even darker.
I usually make marks on the ends closer to the light areas as this would follow the rules of light and make the piece look more natural and make sure not to make the entire area black, as this can make it look unnatural. For charcoal I use Staedtler charcoal infused graphite pencils, which I find is easier that blocks of Charcoal.
And that is it! Tiger completed. If you liked this, please feel free to check out my other pieces on my Instagram @thomasomaxwell.
Keep up to date with Thomas on Instagram @thomasomaxwell or visit www.thomasomaxwell.com.
It’s time for a new adventure! With the world changing and adapting to new surroundings and ethical movements to better the environment we live in, we thought it was time to challenge ourselves to create a vegan cookbook with some of our favourite recipes made fresh, and easy, using plant based vegan ingredients.
Join us for our monthly book club!
BY JOEL FRANCIS
Dear bookworms, it's February, and love is in the air - whether that be the love for a person or, in my case, books. So, with that in mind, I think you're going to find your book match in one of these novels this month - I hope you enjoy them!
Emily Henry
Genre: Romance
For Fans Of: Lily King
What’s in the pages? Poppy and Alex are best friends, even though they have nothing in common. They live miles away and barely see each other, but every summer for a decade, they take a week off on vacation together. Well, that was until they ruined everything two years ago, since then, they haven't spoken.
Poppy is determined to make things right and convinces Alex to take one last vacation together and try to fix everything. He agrees in an unlikely turn of events, and now she has just seven days to fix everything. So what could possibly go wrong?
Why should you read it? People We Meet on Vacation is a charming and cheesy story about love, friendship and vacations. This is the kind of book I would not usually pick up, but I'm glad I did.
Emily Henry has a lyrical style of writing that creates a dream state for her readers, allowing you to float alongside her characters within the story - it barely feels like you're reading. Instead, it feels like you are experiencing the tale alongside the protagonists. Her wit and humour are clever, the characters are loveable, and the story is hugely entertaining.
I recommend this book for anybody in a bit of a ‘book slump’ after the New Year and looking for something light and fun to read this February.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Genre: Fiction For Fans Of: Bernardine Evaristo
What’s in the pages? Ifemelu and Obinze are young lovers in Nigeria, growing up around each other all their lives. However, when it is time to depart Nigeria for the West, Ifemelu heads to America and deals with what it means to be black. Meanwhile, Obinze finds America's gates closed to him and is thrown into undocumented life in London.
Fifteen years later, they find themselves together again in Nigeria. Their passion burns bright for each other and their homeland.
Why should you read it? When it comes to contemporary authors, Chimamanda Adichie is in a league of her own. Each of her stories has a weight to them, unlike anything else I have ever read, and it feels like you are reading the most important story of your life.
Americanah is no different, it is probably her most accessible novel, and the one most people start with. This book is a part love story, part narrative on immigration and colonialism and part lesson on race and politics in Nigeria and the USA. Yet, it manages to handle all those themes with exquisite delicacy, allowing each to breathe and exist independently and with the other themes. Furthermore, the story is an incredibly moving tale on the struggles of youth, identity and what it means to be in love.
If you're looking for an ambitious read by one of the best authors of the past 20 years, I'd recommend this book.
Bryan Lee O'Malley
Genre: Magical Realism For Fans Of: Noelle Stevenson
What’s in the pages? Katie is a talented young chef who has it all: a great career, a hot fling with another chef and great staff. However, just like that, everything starts going wrong, and her life becomes a shadow of what it once was. She is struggling and needs a second chance, and that's when a mysterious girl appears in the dead of night with a magic spell to help her do her life over.
The next day she suddenly has the chance to fix her life, and the bad stuff has never happened. She is determined to get her life back on track, but you know what they say about good intentions. Can Katie regain her former glory, or is she doomed to repeat past mistakes?
Why should you read it? Seconds is a fantastic graphic novel that could only have been written by O'Malley. He has a gift for turning otherwise clichéd and boring narratives into fresh takes with solid ideas and lessons to be learned from them. The art style is light, bright, flashy and adorable. Yet, at the same time, the story is a hilarious but dark take on insecurity and imposter syndrome.
If this is your first time reading a graphic novel (except maybe some comics as a child), then I would strongly recommend Seconds as it's an accessible and entertaining story that will charm anyone who reads it. This is an excellent book for anyone who's looking for a relatively short but delightful read this February!
Larry Levanter is a naughty little lad, With his hat of grey and misty cloud, When he's around it's not a lot of fun, In fact he shouldn't be allowed! He screams around the Casemates Square, Blowing us all about
"Oh Larry please go back from whence you came!" The Gibraltarians shout.
He sits atop our far famed Rock, Having lots of fun, Pumping clouds above the town, And blocking out the sun.
He likes to try and stop the planes from landing, He puffs and blows with all his might, Then laughs and cackles when they fly by far above, Diverted off to Malaga and out of sight.
He has a mild mannered cousin, Who lives out to the West, He's known as Peter Poniente, And often is a welcome guest.
The festive season is a distant memory, and Dry January has come and gone. Did you keep on track with a New Year’s resolution to cut back on the booze, or was an alcohol-free January a complete bust, and you barely made it out of the starting gates before you just needed to have that drink?
Millions of people worldwide struggle with problems related to alcohol use. If you often drink more, or for longer than you planned to; have tried to cut back (or stop) and found you couldn’t; drink to deal with feelings and emotions; or if your drinking is interfering with your life –responsibilities, relationships, finances, or health – then you could have a problem with alcohol.
There is a solution, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) - a 12 Step fellowship support group that has helped people all over the world with their problem drinking. If the consequences of your alcohol use are getting too much, if you are ready to stop drinking, or want support to help you try, then don’t wait until it gets any worse.
You may feel that life without alcohol will be unbearable, no fun
at all or dull beyond words – this isn’t true. Here members of AA talk about how their lives have not only got better but improved beyond their wildest dreams.
“My name is Claire, and I am 38 years old. When I came to AA, I thought I had lost everything, my family, friends, jobs, house, along with my dignity and self-worth. My mind was completely broken. The obsession and compulsion to drink had completely taken over and I couldn’t stop. I didn't know who I was anymore. I didn't know what else to do but to end my life, the alcoholic in me had completely taken control.
With the help of the wonderful people that I met in AA I began to feel safe and loved. I was given support and guidance and I stopped feeling so vulnerable. Two years on and my life is so completely different. I have a successful business, I'm getting married, and I have a house that's paid for. The biggest thing though, for me, was re-connecting with my family. Every day is a blessing and I no longer fear life.”
“I’m Louis and I have been sober for nearly 15 years. I lost both my parents to alcoholism and swore
it wouldn’t happen to me. Then what started as binge drinking in my teens turned into a way to manage my stress and anxiety. Before I knew it, I realised I had a serious drinking problem, and I was humiliated and angry.
I went along to my first meeting with a friend who thought they had a problem. I was only going for support but whilst I was there, I was identifying with everything that was being said. Since that first meeting I haven’t looked back. I found a bunch of people who were willing to love me and care for me until I could love myself.
Today I am a caring and loving person, with an amazing family which I adore, six children, most of whom have never seen me drink. The life I have here in Spain is a gift.”
There are meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous, with friendly people who will understand, held daily throughout the Costa del Sol, and twice weekly in Gibraltar. Meetings are free to attend, and anyone who thinks they may have a problem with alcohol is welcome.
Gibraltar’s social media creatives.
BY CARMEN ANDERSONThe internet has shrunk the world and, for creatives, has grown their audiences. We talk to some of Gibraltar’s creatives on their use of social media to communicate their work to a global audience.
Chloe Martinez is a musician with a burgeoning career as a TikTok musician and presenter. She had not been active on social media until last year, when her sister suggested she post a singing video on TikTok: “It was weeks before I conceded and posted for the first time. After that, things took off and here I am, on a journey that has led me to many wonderful opportunities.”
Chloe officially works for TikTok UK as part of the London team and loves her work. However, she points out that there is a downside to social media and being in the public eye: “I’ve noticed that safety is even more of a priority now than it has been for me in the past. I love getting recognised in London, but the bigger you get, the more people want to know about you and those around you. It’s lovely for people to care so much but some can go overboard! Overall, it’s been a calm and enjoyable experience, but there is a pressure in terms of posting and knowing what to share about myself.”
The beauty of digital platforms is that there is a place for everyone who can access the internet and
"Things took off and here I am, on a journey that has led me to many wonderful opportunities."Chloe Martinez
has even basic equipment. “Of course there are opportunities for TikTokers and YouTubers in Gibraltar,” says Chloe, “digital platforms welcome everyone and you can do whatever you set your mind to do.”
Offering some advice for TikTok starters, Chloe suggests: “Go for it and be yourself. People will find you interesting and start to follow you. If you need any advice, drop me a dm on my Instagram or comment on my TikTok: @iamchloemartinez. I’d be more than happy to help!”
Chloe describes 2021 as one of the best years of her life and looks ahead to more exciting online work to come: “I have so many projects and meetings planned in 2022. I can’t say much for now, but hopefully I’ll be able to share much more very soon!”
@SNBattleReports
25.8k subscribers
Steven Pardo is one member of
a team of gaming YouTubers, using the power of the internet to showcase their passion for Warhammer.
“When Nick and I first thought up SN, we were keen to showcase the awesome armies of the Gibraltar Warhammer Club and we decided that the best way to
since, bigger than some of the channels that originally inspired me.”
SN holds tournaments and uses these and the YouTube channel to raise funds for local charities: “We recently held a YouTubers Warhammer 40k tournament at the Sunborn hotel in aid of GibSams and the Walking Together Foundation.”
do so, was to produce old-school White Dwarf-style photo reports. We really enjoyed the nostalgia of photo reports and I believe this helped the channel grow in SN's early days.”
By reaching out globally through the internet, the channel began to grow and so did the team’s skills. Stephen explains, “We were inspired by other YouTube channels and decided to take the leap. Nick and I, along with Chris, Julian, and all the other amazing people who have supported the channel over the years, pulled together to upgrade the channel's equipment and we filmed our first YouTube report in our old studio. The channel has really grown
The team also hosts two other large annual events, the Grand Tournament, which is becoming a regular event for some of the most competitive players on the Warhammer 40k circuit, and No Retreat, which is more elite and attracts hundreds of players, rapidly becoming one of the most popular events on the circuit. Alongside these three large annual events, SN also supports the Gibraltar Warhammer Club to host monthly tournaments for locals and players from just over the border.
Steven believes that there is plenty of scope in Gibraltar for other gaming accounts to flourish. Steven suggests: “Take small steps and be patient. Keep up a steady stream of content and don't be daunted if your channel does not explode after the first few
Take small steps and be patient.Pardo and DC
months; it takes time. Most of all, enjoy what you are showcasing on your channel and enjoy the creative process. Your audience will gradually get behind you and you will pick up a following.”
Steven hopes to become a fulltime YouTuber, aiming to grow the channel and the website over the next three years and reach 100,000 subscribers.
@TheAverageArtist
111k subscribers
Stephanie Seed created her art channel on YouTube as a way to build a community and an audience for her art. “I am not sure how it all happened; I think I just try to enjoy what I do and that way it never becomes too tiring, and it inspires me to continue to create. You must find the joy in what you do, or you won't have passion for it to
continue. Persistence and loving what you do are key.”
Stephanie hopes to continue to grow the channel, but for now is focusing on being consistent. “There are no particular secrets to starting a YouTube channel,” she elaborates, “you just need a phone and an internet connection and then you upgrade the equipment as the channel progresses and grows. There is plenty of space in this field in Gibraltar,” she adds, “it just depends on you and your commitment to it as it does take time.”
Stephanie’s main motivation comes from her audience: “Lots of people tell me that my videos help them in some way; either inspiring them to pick up art again, or to be more creative, and I know people who have been mentally unwell who watch my videos for comfort. When I receive comments like that, I feel inspired. Just to be able to help one single person
is hugely motivational. I also enjoy the process of creating and posting videos; I find it exciting, and it makes me keep practicing my art too.”
Stephanie’s advice for starting a YouTube channel is to be consistent and, “You also need a good idea or a good channel theme to keep people coming back. Just be yourself and you will find your audience. Avoid gimmicks and respect your audience.”
Persistence and loving what you do are key.
@louiseperera_mua
6120k followers
YouTube: Louise Perera
Learning how to apply makeup like a pro appeals to millions around the world, and whatever the look you’re after, YouTube is the place to turn to for instant information and advice. It’s not surprising, then, that this gives make-up artists and professionals a perfect platform for showcasing their skills. Louise Perera is one such YouTuber:
“Ever since I started using makeup I have been obsessed,” Louise says, “and once I started working on more creative looks and sharing them on Instagram, the natural next step to improve my content and push myself out of my comfort zone was to post videos on YouTube. I love the creative side of makeup; the fact that I can create different look every day for months on end, and still have techniques or ideas I haven’t tried excites me.”
Staying motivated can sometimes be hard, but with a constant flow of creative ideas, Louise finds herself planning the growth of her YouTube Channel as much as possible, working on making each video better than the last: “I will continue to push my limits and improve my skills and hopefully create better and better content. In the last year I have moved towards creating special effects and I would like to see just how far I can push myself with these.”
YouTube is vast and it would be easy to wonder whether you would ever be noticed but this should not put you off, Louise suggests: “Of course, it’s the internet so there is plenty of space and if you have the motivation and passion for whatever you would like to start a channel on, anything is possible.”
Louise’s advice is to take the plunge and give it a go: “My advice would be to just try it out, you have nothing to lose. If you love it, continue to post content and if you don’t succeed in getting the followers you want, at least you tried something new.”
If you don't succeed, at least you tried something new.
BY PETE WOLSTENCROFT
However, despite my near lifelong state of penury, I am quite widely travelled. I have stood on top of glaciers in Iceland, spent time in New York, Boston and Montreal. I have seen the Casbah in Tangier and have had breakfast in Europe, lunch in Asia and dinner back in Europe once again: in Istanbul, naturally. One thing alone is responsible for this track record: the humble package holiday.
Had I been born in the 19th century, it is unlikely I would have strayed much outside the confines of the county of my birth, Lancashire. The grand European tour would have been out of reach. I would never have marvelled at the Acropolis or seen the sun rise over a pristine white beach in Puglia. (As it happens, I have done neither of those two things, but you catch my drift.)
Package holidays on commercial jet aeroplanes have opened up all but the most exotic locations to those of modest means. A trip to Mexico can be had for the price
of a handful of meals in a posh London restaurant. Thailand is so busy with British tourists, that in some resorts, you stand a good chance of bumping into somebody you know from your local pub.
do when faced with 14 hours of strong sunshine every day. The Spanish called us gambas (prawns), and with good reason. It was reckoned – wrongly – that continental beer was much weaker than good old British bitter, leading to more than a few unsavoury scenes in Magalluf and Rimini. But once this tidal wave of ordinary humanity had been unleashed on the world, it would not be stopped. One by one, the chic destinations fell to the hordes: Crete, Cyprus, Corsica – and that is just the C’s!
It must have really hurt the wealthy people when planeloads of plebs started turning up in the parts of Europe colonised by their chums. Many of these people, still dressed in their Sunday best for the flight and reeking of cigarette smoke, even if they had chosen to sit in the no smoking section of the plane, went abroad for the first time in the late 60s and early 70s. I know. I was one of them. In Boeing 707s and De Havilland Comets, we flooded the south of Europe.
We didn’t really know what to
The package holiday is much maligned. The chattering classes when asked the clichéed question: “Traveller or tourist?” would always respond with the former. I remember a woman sneering at me in a hotel in Mallorca because I had made my journey with a cheaper outfit than the one that took her to the very same hotel. But once you are in your resort, you are free to be as independent as you like. You can still trek up to see those hill tribes that have barely seen a westerner. You can still have camel stew under a starry
I am not, nor have I ever been, a rich man. Furthermore, something tells me that my future does not hold sudden influxes of vast wealth. Such is life.
The Spanish called us gambas, and with good reason.
night in the desert. And you can still tell those who sneer, that you have managed to do your trip for a fraction of what the sophisticated, independent traveller has paid.
On more than one occasion, I have had a full holiday: flights, transfers, hotel and meals for the less than the cost of a single night in the hotel I stayed in, had I walked in off the street and asked for a room for the night. This is a good thing.
And, let’s be realistic. You will always be a mere tourist unless you learn the language of your destination country. I speak fluent Spanish and can get by in French, Italian and Portuguese, but that still leaves a lot of languages that are a mystery to me. So, in Romania or Finland, I am reliant – to a certain extent – upon the hospitality and
helpfulness of other people, if I am to make the most of any trip to those countries.
None of this stuff would be possible without the jet engine. At least as much as the internal combustion engine, this miraculous form of transport has utterly transformed the world. It is relatively easy to maintain genuine friendships with people an ocean away from you, when it only takes five hours in an aluminium tube to cross that ocean.
Easy global travel enables those of us of humble means to experience
other cultures. This contact makes us more aware of the differences between peoples, but – crucially – makes us more aware of the similarities. People of every hue and every religion are largely just trying their best to get by. I know this, because package holidays told me so.
From our Italian travels, one dish that stuck with us is Italian porchetta. Whilst the authentic version usually involves stuffing and rolling up a whole pig, we usually make a simplified, all pork-belly version. Apart from being moist and juicy throughout, its also a lot easier to fit into a standard oven than a whole hog!
Porchetta is essentially a rolled up pork roast stuffed with herbs and aromatics. Half the job is making sure you start off with the right piece of meat. You’ll need a rectangular piece of boneless pork belly; speak to the butcher to cut out any bones if necessary. Also, you will want a fairly large piece given you will be rolling it onto itself. The recipe below is for half a whole pork belly; if using a larger piece, be conscious of the herbs and aromatic proportions.
Most of the hard work is done the night before cooking when preparing the porchetta.
(Serves 4-6 people.)
Ingredients:
• 1 piece of boneless pork belly (skin on) weighing about 3kg (half a whole belly piece);
• 8 garlic cloves (minced or grated);
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 tablespoons fennel pollen (substitute fennel seeds if you cannot find pollen)
• 1/2 tablespoon peperoncini/ red pepper flakes
• Grated zest of 1/2 lemon or 1/2 orange
• Glug of dry white wine (optional)
• Freshly ground pepper
• Salt
• Butcher string
Method:
1. Lay out the pork belly skin side down on a large surface. With a sharp knife, score the flesh in a cris-cross fashion to create pockets for the rub to get into.
2. In a bowl, combine the garlic, rosemary, fennel pollen (or seeds), red pepper flakes and lemon zest to create a rub. Mix this together well or mash together in a pestle and mortar. Loosen the mixture with a glug of white wine (and/or some lemon juice or olive oil).
3. Rub the herb and spice mixture into the meat with your hands, ensuring that it goes dees into the scored flesh. Season the pork very generously with salt and pepper.
4. Time to assemble. Roll up the belly lengthwise with the skin on the outside to create a tight log. Ideally the two ends of the rind should just about meet each other but don’t worry too much if this is not neat and exact. Starting from one of the ends, tie up the belly with butcher string so that it holds shape without collapsing open. You will need at least 4 or 5 knots and bits of string to keep the pork tightly packed up. (TIP: the butcher at Morrisons has some elastic butcher string which makes this very easy; if you ask nicely, they will happily give you a handful!)
5. Once tied up, place the porchetta in a large dish and sprinkle the outside of the porchetta with salt before placing in the fridge to rest (uncovered) over night. The salt will help moisture out of the skin and ensure you get extra crispy crackling.
6. The following day, take the porchetta out of the fridge about an hour before you intend to roast is so that it can come up to room temperature. Pre-heat the oven to 140 degrees and roast the pork for about 4 hours. At this point, depending on how crispy the skin is, you could increase the temperature to 200 degrees for 10/15 minutes more, but this may not be necessary.
7. Let the pork rest for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
8. The porchetta can be served with potatoes and vegetables, but is also great inside soft white rolls.
The netball national players were away on their travels in January, with the Campions squaring up against old foes, The Isle of Man, as well as two giants of the game in the form of Republic of Ireland and Wales. Gibraltar first faced Isle of Man and were looking for revenge after the Manx squad pipped them to a 47-41 win at the Open Challenge hosted here on the Rock last October.
Unfortunately a nervy start to the game saw Gibraltar fall behind an IOM team that looked slicker from the off. A 17-31 half time score saw IOM side looking comfortable and although the Campions found their rhythm in the two second quarters, it wouldn't be enough to make up the 13 point deficit. The sides practically went goal for goal throughout the second half, with the final score Gibraltar 42-55 IOM.
The rivalry between these two sides never disappoints, but Gibraltar will feel they need to win the next encounter to put this run of losses to an end!
Next up was the Irish side –less familiar opposition for the Gibraltar side, although they hadn't fared too badly when Ireland visited in 2018 for the European Open Challenge. The visitors had beaten the Campions 34-39 in that game, so Gibraltar hoped they would at least make things difficult for the opposition.
The game took a similar trajectory to Gibraltar's opener – a slightly shaky start saw Ireland run away with a healthy half time lead of 28-15. Gibraltar then clawed back some of the difference to end Q3 at 38-27, but the Irish side shored
up their defence and pulled away to a 54-33 victory.
Gibraltar would then end the series with the toughest game by far: Wales are regularly ranked top ten in the world (currently 9th) and it was the first encounter between these sides at senior level, meaning Gibraltar had no previous reference to Wales.
It was a rollercoaster from the start; Gibraltar nicked just the 6 points to Wales' 20 in the first quarter, and the hosts were in full control throughout the 60 minutes. 82 – 27 the final score
to Wales, who lifted the Wendy White Trophy with three emphatic wins that put them en route to qualifying for the Commonwealth Games later this year and the World Cup in 2023
No wins but more valuable experience for our netball side, with veteran Joelle Moreno celebrating a landmark 50th cap during this trip. On the other side of the scale, seven players earned their first cap in Wales and will be hoping to cement their positions in the squad in coming years.
A special mention also to Nadine Pardo Zammit who was selected to officiate at the series and continues adding to her growing experience at high level tournaments.
In football, Gibraltar's women will be playing two friendlies this month, after opening their UEFA accounts against Liechtenstein in November. The first takes place on February 16th and will see the side travel up to play Andorra in their Estadi Nacional. The side then returns to the Rock and will have a few days preparation before facing The Faroe Islands at the Victoria Stadium.
UEFA football is a new adventure for Gibraltar's women and they will want to find their level in the coming months and years after starting off in the best possible way with a win against Liechtenstein in their first official friendly. Andorra (ranked 170th) and Faroe Islands (ranked 99th) will serve up a sterner test this month, and we wish the side all the best as they prepare to represent Gibraltar on the international stage!
We stay at England’s most iconic hotel-restaurant situated in Great Milton in rural Oxfordshire. Will this vision of chef Raymond Blanc be the near-perfect experience many claim it to be?
BY ANDREW LICUDI DIPWSETUnsurprisingly we didn’t make it to Gibraltar this past Christmas. It’s now January ,and we’ve just driven down the M1. I must qualify the ‘we’, for I’ve let the car do its own thing. Its driven us impeccably down the busy motorway for the last three hours. All I’ve had to do is keep my hand on the steering wheel, feeling the car guide us round the gentle curves of the road or violently breaking when a white van careers on to our path. Spooky, but eventually the car deposits us at one of the bestknown establishments in England.
Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons near Oxford.
The building itself, lying at the end of a short gravel driveway, is an architectural gem – very English looking, the French flag flying over the main entrance doing nothing to detract from its Elizabethan feel.
Other than a red Ferrari and a
couple of high-end Mercs, the rest of the cars in the car park are family cars which comes as no surprise having been told most the clientele go there on a oncein-a-lifetime splurge. Perhaps a milestone birthday or wedding anniversary, sufficiently important to justify the £1800 per night per couple for dinner, bed and breakfast (plus wine and a 12.5% service charge).
In our case, its neither a birthday nor anniversary ,simply an innate curiosity if all the fuss about the hotel with its apple orchards, vegetable gardens and twoMichelin-star restaurant is all its cracked up to be.
Having arrived too early, the room is not ready, and we kill time walking round the extensive gardens. Its bitterly cold and the gardens slumber under a blanket of winter bleakness. It’s not difficult to imagine how the place will feel on an English summer’s days with its ponds and beautiful
sculptures. Easy to picture extensive rows of succulent vegetables picked by chefs in their impeccable white uniforms.
Our room turns out to be very pretty, very English like out of a Jane Austen novel. A bright yellow, hand painted cast iron bath lies just behind an impossibly heavy curtain. What is one to do with so many towels, we wonder. (They are changed twice a day.)
On a table, a complimentary bottle of madeira accompanies some fresh fruit. Like the towels, we wonder why one would need so many linen napkins and cutlery to tackle some apples and pears.
Later we find out the hotel has thirty-two rooms and 220 employees. No wonder the
What is one to do with so many towels, we wonder.
service is impeccable and the prices eye watering. Its difficult to reserve a table for lunch or dinner unless you’re staying overnight. Lunch is booked months in advance, perhaps because at £210 per head, excluding wine, it’s a relative bargain by Manoir standards. The man himself is nowhere to be seen. Perhaps not surprising having sold out to Belmond Hotels some time ago, though their website still places him as the ‘chef patron’.
Our table has been reserved for 7:30pm. We are led into a comfortable sitting room with a blazing log fire. Large gin and tonics later we are perusing the tasting menu. They already know our eating foibles for we were asked to fill a questionnaire weeks before our arrival. Would we prefer a traditional or modern room? Did we want Duvets or blankets?
Once at the table, it’s not long before the dishes start to arrive. The service is brisk but not overpowering and the sevencourse menu is printed on small cards, so we are not subjected to interminable descriptions of the dishes by waiting staff, one of the scourges of fine dining!
The food turns out to be as you would expect. Very good indeed. The quality of the Scottish Langoustines with miso superb. So is the is the John Dory and the tiny morsels of raw sea bass. A simple dish of baby carrots and parsnips turns out be not simple but a masterpiece of vegetarian cooking. The venison main is outstanding. Regretfully, we are too full to tackle the cheeses. Perhaps the best meal we’ve ever had.
The wine list as you’d expect is extensive. From £55 a bottle right through to £25,000.00 for the 1993 Chambertin made by Lalou Leroy! (She loves vines more than people; see The Gibraltar Magazine March 2018.) We had a Veuve Cliquot 2012 champagne which by Manoir standards was reasonably priced. A 2011 Alter Ego Palmer (the second wine of
Ch Palmer) should have been ready to drink but its tannins were still wild and overpowering.
For a special occasion le Manoir would be difficult to beat. The service is beyond excellent, the food outstanding and our Italian waiter Valentino couldn’t have been friendlier nor more professional. Just before leaving we asked for some of their famous scones to take away. They didn’t have any, but their pastry chef would bake some for us if didn’t mind waiting. It was not long before we were handed a lovely box of beautiful warm scones which at £2.50 each turned out to be the bargain of the weekend.
Regretfully, we are too full to tackle the cheeses.
Denim is the true foundation of many of our wardrobes. From shirts and dresses to jackets and, of course, jeans, denim is the timeless trend we’ve depended on for decades and continues to deliver on all of our fashion needs.
BY JULIA COELHO
It’s crazy to think that two pioneers by the names of Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis created the first pair of jeans back in 1873; they unknowingly constructed what would eventually become the most worn item of clothing on planet Earth. As much as we love and depend on them, finding the perfect pair of jeans remains one of life’s greater sartorial challenges. They have to fit just right while being versatile, utilitarian and comfortable to sit in (key!). The search can take years, and then by the time you find ‘the one’, silhouette trends will have changed, or your body shape will have fluctuated and that dream pair just doesn’t fit quite the same anymore.
Although denim is inherently a wardrobe staple, trends do of course exist as is per the natural ebb and flow of the fashion industry. Each year brings with it something new, no matter how fleeting, whether it’s a simple and subtle alteration to a classic shape, the surprising return of an old cut, or something completely revolutionary altogether. So while we’ll definitely still be wearing our
tried and true classics for many years to come (black skinnies, Levi’s 501s, we’re looking at you), there’s no doubt that many of us will also be experimenting with some fresh new trends this year. Ultimately, it always pays to invest in the fits that feel right for you, no matter what’s in vogue at the moment.
Sustainability is also a huge issue to consider in the denim world, as unfortunately, its production is one of the most damaging to the environment, not only due to the vast amount of water required
to create a single pair of jeans, but also the pollutants used in the dyeing process. That’s not even bringing up the issue of overproduction we are currently facing as a direct result of our society’s lust for fast and easilydisposable fashion.
For sustainable high street denim, my top choice on all accounts is Weekday, without a doubt. Not only do they have a huge range of styles in multiple shades and lengths, but they feel way more expensive than they actually are, and all of their cotton is either
organic or recycled. Another increasingly popular sustainable (and affordable) brand is People Tree, which boasts a collection of 100% organic cotton denim that uses over 80% less water to produce than conventional cotton.
So, with all of that in mind, here are all the denim styles that are taking the high-street and runway by storm this season:
Loose jeans have been creeping back into our day to day lives for a while now. This year, we can expect to see more distressed, ripped up versions, in a nod to the very current 90s aesthetic we seem to be vibing with at the moment. I got in on this trend last autumn, and I absolutely love it for those days where I want to look effortlessly chill, paired with some Vans and a sweatshirt or crop top.
Taking it up a notch from the baggy, loads of designers have introduced 70s style flares into their collections this past autumn. Featuring more structured silhouettes with absolutely no rips or frayed hems, wide-leg jeans have a way of making any outfit look elevated and classy. Within this classic silhouette has emerged a micro-trend of course; jeans with pressed creases to the front of the trouser leg. Elevate some flares with a sharp blazer or duster jacket and classic ankle boots; a failsafe combination that will work for so many occasions.
1. CURVE HIGH WAIST 'SLOUCHY' MOM JEANS IN STONEWASH WITH RIPS, ASOS DESIGN, £32.00
2. PETITE HIGH RISE 'SLOUCHY' MOM JEANS IN WASHED BLACK, ASOS DESIGN, £32.00
3. ISA PETITE HIGH RISE FLARED JEANS IN MID BLUE, REISS, £150.00
5: STRAIGHT FIT PRINTED JEANS, ZARA, £29.99
6: CURVE HIGH RISE SLOUCHY MOM JEANS IN 70'S MONOGRAM LASER, ASOS DESIGN, £40.00
7: ZW THE SKINNY FLARE JEANS, ZARA, £29.99
8: HEATHER SLIM FIT JEANS (98% ORGANIC CERTIFIED COTTON, 2% ELASTANE), PEOPLE TREE, £95.00
9: ARROW LOW STRAIGHT JEANS, WEEKDAY, £40.00
10: ORGANIC LOW RISE 'BAGGY' BOYFRIEND JEAN IN MIDWASH, ASOS DESIGN, £35.00
Udeshi Tailoring is offering one lucky reader the chance to win this fabulous bag, which is the ideal size for a weekend away, or as a beach or gym bag. Its design is based on a WWII Allied Forces parachute bag found by Oscar in a Parisian flea market.
To enter the competition to win the prize, find the answer to this question in the article below and send it to gibmag@udeshi. co.uk The winner will be chosen at random on the 1st of March 2022.
Question: What year did Udeshi open its Mayfair showroom?
Oscar Udeshi is a truly modern
tailor, creating the softest, most comfortable, practical and lightweight tailored clothing imaginable. He not only crafts suits and jackets, but also shirts, polos, khakis, jeans and so much more. He offers a complete clothing solution for the modern man.
Oscar is a Savile Row trained tailor who launched his label Udeshi in London in 1999. In 2002 he became the youngest menswear designer at Paris Men’s Fashion Week, and was named one of the rising stars in menswear at Pitti Uomo in Florence the same year. He has shown at many fashion shows and events, and opened his showroom in Mayfair in 2006.
He opened a Marbella fitting room in Autumn 2021 to
offer men on the Costa del Sol and Gibraltar soft, lightweight, comfortable and exquisitely crafted clothing to take them from the beach to the boardroom and beyond.
Visit www.udeshi.com
Enter the competition - Email your answer to gibmag@udeshi.co.uk by the 28th of February to be in with the chance of winning this fantastic bag.
Printed jeans were absolutely everything in my childhood; from coloured patches to crazy stripes and floral embroidery, the nineties
and early noughties were a time of carefree experimentation on this front, much like their preceding decades. If you’re really not into prints but still want to make a statement, maybe try out a crisp white pair which are so easy to style and look somewhat more refined than your everyday blue shades.
The lighter hues of denim seem to be taking a back seat to moodier, deep indigo tones this season. As much as I love a light acid wash, it’s true that there’s something about a darker rinse that makes denim look smarter and more put together;
even appropriate in many offices, offering myriad elegant styling possibilities.
I personally would have a hard time ditching my high-waisted styles for low-rises, but Y2K fashion is taking over whether we like it or not. And while pelvic bone-skimming styles in all their Britney-esque glory aren’t my personal cup of tea, fashionistas far and wide are really coming round to the idea of a low-rise straight-leg style for 2022. Who knows, I may be eating my words in no time…
During the month of February people all over the world will celebrate the Chinese New Year on the 1st or Valentine’s Day on the 14th. This month the Gibraltar Vegan combines both days and creates a dessert that’s perfect for the end of a three course romantic meal but also gives a nod to the Chinese tradition of giving a mandarin orange to loved ones as a symbolic way of wishing someone happiness and prosperity in the New Year.
It goes without saying this recipe could be used for any fruit but with both oranges and mandarins a plenty and available on the side of the road in Spain, the fruit is ever so sweet and perfect for desserts.
• 4 tbsp agar flakes (available in the Health Store)
• 250 ml soy cream
• 710 ml freshly squeezed orange and mandarins in equal measures, keep the pulp in the juice if possible
• 1 mandarin orange for decoration
• 46 g white sugar
1. Pour the orange and mandarin juice into a saucepan and scatter 4tbsp of agar on top.
2. Bring it to the boil and then stir the agar flakes in.
3. Let it simmer and stir occasionally until all the flakes have dissolved.
4. At the same time put the soy cream and sugar into a saucepan and cook on a low heat until all the sugar has dissolved.
5. Mix the two saucepans together and stir until well blended.
6. Pour into jars or serving dishes. If you are using glass place a metal spoon in the jar or dish when pouring the hot liquid in, this will stop the glass from cracking.
7. Place in the fridge until it is set. You can leave it overnight if you wish but an hour should be plenty.
8. When you are ready to serve it, peel the mandarin orange and cut it up so you can decorate the dessert.
This simple, hearty North African style stew is quick and easy to prepare. This recipe is a guide so you can use any vegetables – I’ve used zucchini, flat green beans, carrots, potatoes, chickpeas, and an onion. I have also included a nice combination of spices (paprika, coriander cumin, cinnamon, cardamon, black pepper, turmeric, fennel, and oregano) that will give this dish the lovely complex flavours you expect from Moroccan-style dishes.
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. minced ginger
• Spices
• 1 cup puréed tomato
• 1¼ cups water
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 bay leaf
• Vegetables
• Tin of chickpeas
• ¼ cup olives
• small handful of dried cherries or raisins or prunes
1. Sauté the onions, garlic, and ginger until softened then add in the spices. After a few seconds add tomato, water, salt, lemon, and bay leaf.
2. Add in the vegetables and let it boil for about 2-3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and leave it to simmer, completely covered, for 20 minutes.
3. Scatter in the olives and raisins.
Cover again and continue to simmer for another 5-10 minutes
4. Serve with sprinkling of herbs and sesame seeds.
One of our readers has had a go at a past Gib Mag recipe - what do you think? Send in your snaps to editor@thegibraltarmagazine.com for a chance to be featured!
Business Information
Financial Serv. Commission
Tel: 200 40283/4
Chamber of Commerce Tel: 200 78376
Federation Small Business Tel: 200 47722
Company Registry Tel: 200 78193
Useful Numbers Airport (general info.) Tel: 200 12345 Hospital, St Bernards Tel: 200 79700
Weather information Tel: 5-3416 Frontier Queue Update Tel: 200 42777
Gibraltar Museum Tel: 200 74289 18/20 Bomb House Lane 10am-6pm (Sat 10am-2pm). Admission: Adults £2/Children under 12 - £1.
ADHD Gibraltar adhdgibraltar@gmail.com facebook.com/ADHDGibraltar/
Alcoholics Anonymous meet 7pm Tues & Thurs at Nazareth House Tel: 200 73774.
A Step Forward support for single, separated, divorced/widowed people, meet 8pm Mon at St Andrew’s Church.
Mummy & Me Breastfeeding Support Group those who are pregnant, breastfeeding or have breastfed to get together for coffee / support. Partners and older children welcome. Meets 1st Wed / month at Chilton Court Community Hall at 1.30pm. Enquiries and support 54014517.
Childline Gibraltar confidential phone line for children in need. Freephone 8008 - 7 days a week 5pm - 9pm
Citizens’ Advice Bureau Open Mon-Thur 9:30am-4:00pm, Fri 9:30am- 3:30pm. Tel: 200 40006 Email: info@cab.gi or visit at 10 Governor’s Lane. Free & confidential, impartial & independent advice and info.
COPE Support group for people with Multiple Sclerosis, Fibromyalgia or Rheumatoid Arthritis. Meetings at Catholic Community Centre Book
Gibraltar Garrison Library Tel: 200 77418 2 Library Ramp Mon-Fri: 9am-5pm. Free Library tour offered every Friday at 11am. chris.tavares@gibraltargarrisonlibrary.gi
Registry Office Tel: 200 72289 It’s possible to get married within 48 hours. A fact taken advantage of by stars such as Sean Connery & John Lennon.
Rock Tours by Taxi Tel: 200 70052 As well as offering normal fares, taxis provide Rock Tours taking in the Upper Rock, Europa Point etc.
John Mackintosh Hall Tel: 200 75669 Includes cafeteria, theatre, exhibition rooms and library. 308 Main Street 9.30am - 11pm Mon-Fri.
Gibraltar Public Holidays 2022
New Year's Day Monday 3 Jan
Commonwealth Day Monday 21 Feb
Good Friday Friday 15 April
Easter Monday Monday 18 April
Workers Memorial Day Thursday 28 April
May Day Monday 2 May
Spring Bank Holiday Thursday 2 June
Platinum Jubilee Friday 3 June
The Queen's Birthday Monday 13 June
Late Summer Bank Holiday Monday 29 Aug
Gibraltar National Day Monday 12 Sept
Christmas Day Monday 26 Dec
Boxing Day Tuesday 27 Dec
Shop at 7.30pm first Thur of each month. Tel: 200 51469 Email: copeadsupport@hotmail.com
Dignity At Work Now Confidential support and advice for those who are being bullied at work. Tel: 57799000.
Families Anonymous Support group for relatives and friends concerned about the use of drugs or related behavioural problems. Meet weekly on Thurs at 9pm at Family and Community Centre, Mid Harbours Estate, Bishop Caruana Road. 54007676 or 54014484.
Gamblers Anonymous Telephone: 54001520
Gibraltar Cardiac Rehabilitation and Support Group meets on the first Tues of every month at 8.30pm at John Mac Hall, except for Jul & Aug.
Gibraltar Dyslexia Support Group 72 Prince Edwards Rd Tel: 200 78509 Mobile: 54007924 website: dyslexia.gi
Gibraltar Hearing Issues & Tinnitus Association
Voicemail: (+350) 200 66755, Text Message (SMS): (+350) 54066055, Correspondence Charity P.O. Box 90220, Gibraltar. Email: info@ ghita.gi, Facebook: Gibraltar Hearing Issues & Tinnitus Association (GHITA & BSL Club), Our support group meets the first Monday of every month at Suite 3, Kings Bastion Leisure Centre as from 5pm.
Gibraltar Marriage Care Free relationship counselling, including pre-marriage education (under auspices of Catholic Church, but open to all). Tel: 200 71717.
Gibraltar Society for the Visually Impaired Tel: 200 50111 (24hr answering service).
Hope miscarriage support Tel: 200 41817.
Mummy & Me Breastfeeding Support: Meets every Thursday 12:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Narcotics Anonymous Tel: 200 70720
Parental Support Group helping parents and grandparents with restrictive access to their children and grandchildren. Tel: 200 46536, 200 76618, or 54019602.
Psychological Support Group, PO Box 161, Nazareth House. Meet Tuesdays at 7pm, Fridays 8pm. Tel: Yolanda 54015553
With Dignity Gibraltar support for separated, divorced/widowed or single people. Meet Weds 9pm, Catholic Community Centre, Line Wall Rd. Outings/activities.
Women in Need Voluntary organisation for all victims of domestic violence. Refuge available. Tel: 200 42581 (24 hrs).
Arts & Crafts
Cross Stitch Club: John Mackintosh Hall, 1st Floor, Mon 6-8pm, fee £1.
Gibraltar Arts & Crafts Association:
Children: Mon&Fri 12.30-2pm, Mon-Fri
3.45-5.15pm Adults: Wed 5.45-7.15, Sat 10.30 to 12.30, Tel: 20073865
email: gibartsandcrafts@hotmail.com
Knit and Natter Group: Tues 11am-3pm, Thurs 5.30-7.30pm, at Arts & Crafts Shop, Casemates balcony. Free to join and refreshments provided. Tel: 20073865.
The Arts Centre: Prince Edward’s Road, Art classes for children and adults. For more info call Tel: 200 79788.
The Fine Arts Association Gallery: At Casemates. Open 10am-2pm, 3-6pm Mon-Fri, Sat 11am-1pm.
The Arts Society Gibraltar: Monthly illustrated talks open to the public. Registration from 6:30pm every 3rd Wednesday of the month. Guest fee £12. We meet at The Garrison Library. Contact gibraltar@theartssociety.org or Claus Olesen on 54036666. Website with all informaiton is gibraltar.theartssociety.org
Board Games
Calpe Chess Club & Junior Club: meets in Studio 1, John Mackintosh Hall
Thursday, Juniors: 5p.m. - 7 p.m. / Tuesday & Thursday 7p.m. - 10:30
The Gibraltar Scrabble Club: Meets on Tuesdays at 3pm. Tel: Vin 20073660 or Roy 20075995. All welcome.
The Subbuteo Club: Meets in Charles Hunt Room, John Mackintosh Hall.
Dance
Adult Dance Classes: Wed evenings at Kings
Bastion Leisure Centre from 7-8.30pm. Contact Dilip on 200 78714.
Art in Movement Centre: Hip-hop/Break
Dance, Contemporary Dance, Pilates, Capoeira, Acrobatics, Street Kids & Tods, Modern Dance. Performance and Film opportunities. Judo & Jujitsu Classes: Tue/ Thur with Sensei Conroy. All ages. Budokai
Martial Arts Centre, Wellington Front. www. artinmovement.net FB: Art In MovementA.I.M, tel 54025041 or 54007457
Ballet, Modern Theatre, Contemporary & Hip-hop: weekly at Danza Academy. Training from 3 years to Adult Advanced. 68/2 Prince Edward’s Rd Tel: 54027111. Bellydance Classes, all levels, Tue 8-9pm at the Ocean Village Gym (non–members welcome). Contact 54005593.
DSA Old & Modern Sequence
Dancing: Sessions at Central Hall Fri 8.30pm, beginners 8pm. Tel: 200 78901 or tony@ gibraltar.gi Everybody welcome.
Modern & Latin American Sequence
Dancing: Mon at Catholic Community Centre 8pm. Tel. Andrew 200 78901.
Modern, Contemporary, Lyrical, Flexibility, Hip Hop & Dance Theatre: Classes weekly at Urban Dance Studio, 2 Jumpers Bastion. Tel: Yalta 54012212 or Jolene 54015125. Rockkickers Linedance Club: Governor’s Meadow 1st School. www.rockkickers.com
Salsa Gibraltar Salsa: Tues at Laguna Social Club, Laguna Estate. Beginners 7-8.30pm. Intermediates 8.30-10pm. Tel: Mike 54472000 or info@salsagibraltar.com
Zumba Classes at Urban Dance: Jumpers Bastion, with certified instructor Tyron Walker. Tel: 20063959 or 54012212 or Twitter: @UrbanDanceGib
History & Heritage
The Gibraltar Heritage Trust: Main Guard, 13 John Mackintosh Sq. Tel: 200 42844.
The Gibraltar Classic Vehicle Association: Dedicated to the preservation of Rock’s transport/motoring heritage. Assists members in restoration / maintenance of classic vehicles. New members welcome. Tel: 200 44643.
Garrison Library Tours: at 11am on Fri, duration 1h 50mins. Tel: 20077418.
History Alive: Historical re-enactment parade. Main Street up to Casemates Square every Sat at 12 noon.
Music
Gibraltar National Choir and Gibraltar
Junior National Choir: Rehearses at the Holy Trinity Cathedral. Tel: 54831000.
The Calpe Band: Mon & Wed. For musicians of brass/woodwind instruments of all standards/ages/abilities 7-9pm. Tel: 54017070 or thecalpeband@gmail.com
Jazz Nights: Thurs at 9pm at O’Callaghan Eliott Hotel. Tel: 200 70500.
Outdoor Activities
The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Gibraltar: Exciting self-development programme for young people worldwide equipping them with life skills to make a difference to themselves, their communities and the world. Contact: Award House, North Mole Road, PO Box: 1260. mjpizza@ gibtelecom.net, www.thedukes.gi.
Social Clubs
The Rotary Club of Gibraltar meets the Rock Hotel, 7pm Tuesday evenings. Guests welcome. For contact or info www.rotaryclubgibraltar.com
Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes: (Gibraltar Province) meets RAOB Club, 72/9 Prince Edward’s Road - Provincial Grand Lodge, Thu/month, 7.30pm. William Tilley 2371, Thurs 8.30pm. Buena Vista 9975, monthly, Social Lodge. www.akearn1.wix. com/raob-gibraltar, william.tilley.lodge@ hotmail.co.uk, Clive, tel: 58008074
Special Interest Clubs & Societies
Creative Writers Group: meets up on Tuesday mornings at 10.30 in O’Reilley’s Irish Bar and it is free to attend. Tel: Carla 54006696.
Gibraltar Book Club: For info Tel: Parissa 54022808.
Gibraltar Horticultural Society: meets 1st Thurs of month 6pm, J.M. Hall. Spring Flower Show, slide shows, flower arrangement demos, outings to garden centres, annual Alameda Gardens tour. All welcome.
Gibraltar Photographic Society: Meets on Mondays at 7:00 p.m. Wellington Front. Induction courses, talks, discussions, competitions etc. For details contact the secretary on, leslinares@gibtelecom.net
Harley Davidson Owners’ Club: Harley Riders Gibraltar on Facebook Lions Club of Gibraltar: Meets 2nd and 4th Wed of the month at 50 Line Wall Road. www.lionsclubofgibraltar.com
St John’s Ambulance: Adult Volunteers Training Sessions from 8-10pm on Tues. Tel: 200 77390 or training@stjohn.gi
The Royal British Legion: For info or membership contact the Branch Secretary 20074604 or write to PO Box 332.
UN Association of Gibraltar: PO Box 599, 22a Main Street. Tel: 200 52108.
Sports Supporters Clubs
Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Club: Meets at Star Bar, Parliament Lane, when Spurs games are televised - call prior to matches to check game is televised. Great food for a lunch if KO is early or an early supper if the game is later.
Gibraltar Arsenal Supporters Club: Meets match days upstairs at Time Out Café, Eurotowers. Gooners of all ages welcome. For info/news visit www.GibGooners.com
Tel: 54010681 (Bill) or 54164000 (John). Gibraltar Hammers: Meets on match days at the Victoria Stadium Bar, Bayside Road. All league games are shown live. All West Ham supporters and their families are welcome. For details visit www.gibraltarhammers.com or gibraltarhammers@hotmail.com
Leeds United Gibraltar Supporters Club
Meet at The Trafalgar Sports Bar 1 Rosia Road when live matches are on. All Leeds United supporters and their families are welcome. Join Leeds United Gibraltar Supporters club at: facebook.com/luscgib
Sports & Fitness
Artistic Gymnastics: Gibraltar Artistic Gymnastics Association. Tel: Angela 200 70611 or Sally 200 74661.
Athletics: Gibraltar Amateur Athletics Association holds competitions through year for juniors, adults and veterans. Two main clubs (Calpeans 200 71807, Lourdians 200 75180) training sessions at Victoria Stadium.
Badminton: Recreational badminton weekdays at Victoria Stadium (Tel: 200 78409 for allocations). Gibraltar Badminton Association (affiliated to BWF& BE) junior club/tournaments, senior leagues/ recreational. www.badmintongibraltar.com
Ballet Barre Fitness: Adults on Wed 10am & Fri 6pm at The Arts Centre. Tel: 54033465 or pilatesgibraltar@hotmail.com
Basketball: Gibraltar Amateur Basketball Association (affiliated FIBA) leagues/ training
for minis, passarelle, cadets, seniors and adults at a variety of levels. Tel: John 200 77253, Randy 200 40727.
Boxing: Gibraltar Amateur Boxing Association (member IABA) gym on Rosia Rd. Over 13s welcome. Tuition with ex-pro boxer Ernest Victory. Tel: 56382000 or 20042788.
Cheerleading: Gibraltar Cheerleading Association, girls and boys of all ages.
Cheerleading and street cheer/hip-hop at Victoria Stadium. Recreational / competitive levels. Tel: 58008338.
Canoeing: Gibraltar Canoeing Association. Tel: Nigel 200 52917 or Arturo 54025033.
Cricket: Gibraltar Cricket, National Governing Body & Associate Member of ICC. Governs International & Domestic Men’s, Women’s, Boys’ & Girls’ cricket- league & cup competitions and in-school coaching. www.gibraltarcricket.com, info@gibcricket. com, Twitter: @Gibraltar_Crick
Cycling: Gibraltar Cycling Association various cycling tours.
Darts: Gibraltar Darts Association (full member of WDF & affiliate of BDO). We cater for men, ladies & youth who take part in leagues, competitions and a youth academy for the correct development of the sport. Tel: Darren 54027171 Secretary, Alex 54021672 Youth Rep, Justin 54022622 President. Email: info@ gibraltardarts.com
Football: Gibraltar Football Associationleagues/competitions for all ages OctoberMay. Futsal in summer, Victoria Stadium. Tel: 20042941 www.gibraltarfa.com
Gaelic Football Club (Irish sport): Males any age welcome. Get fit, play sport, meet new friends, travel around Spain/Europe and play an exciting and competitive sport. Training every Wed on the MOD pitch on Devil’s Tower Road at 7pm. Andalucia League with Seville and Marbella to play matches home and away monthly. Visit www.gibraltargaels. com or secretary.gibraltar.europe@gaa.ie
Hockey: Gibraltar Hockey Association (members FIH & EHF) high standard competitions/training for adults/juniors. Tel: Eric 200 74156 or Peter 200 72730 for info.
Iaido: teaches the Japanese sword (Katana), classes every week. www.iaidogibraltar.com
Ice Skating: Gibraltar Rock Stars Figure Skating Club lessons every Tuesday evening & Saturday morning, all levels including adults. Contact grsfsc@gmail.com or 58700000
Iwa Dojo, Kendo & Jujitsu: Classes every week, for kids/adults. Tel: 54529000 www. iwadojo.com or dbocarisa@iwadojo.com
Judo and Ju-jitsu: Gibraltar Budokai Judo Association UKMAF recognised instructors for all ages and levels at Budokai Martial Arts Centre, Wellington Front. Tel: Charlie 20043319.
Ju-jitsu: Gibraltar Ju-jitsu Academy training and grading for juniors/seniors held during the evening at 4 North Jumpers Bastion. Tel: 54011007.
Karate-do Shotokai: Gibraltar Karate-do Shotokai Association - Karate training for junior & seniors at Clubhouse, Shotokai karate centre, 41H Town Range. Monday: 9:30 p.m. & Wednesday 9:45 p.m.
Karate: Shotokan karate midday Mon beginners, other students 8.30pm. Thurs 8.30pm. In town at temporary dojo or privately by arrangement. Contact Frankie 54038127 or info@fhmedia.co.uk.
Motorboat Racing: Gibraltar Motorboat Racing Association Tel: Wayne 200 75211. Muay Thai and Muay Boran Club: Tues & Thur at Boyd’s Kings Bastion Leisure Centre at 6:30pm, Tel: John – 54024707
FB: Gibraltar Muay Thai Netball: Gibraltar Netball Association (affiliated FENA & IFNA) competitions through year, senior/junior leagues. Tel: 20041874.
Petanque: Gibraltar Petanque Association. New members welcome. Tel: 54002652.
Pilates: Intermediate Pilates: Tues & Fri 9.30am, beginners Pilates: Fri 10.50am at the Shotokai Centre, 41H Town Range. Tel: 54033465 or pilatesgibraltar@hotmail.com
Gibraltar Pool Association: (Member of the EBA) home and away league played on Thurs throughout the season, various tournaments played on a yearly basis both nationally and internationally, Tel: 56925000 gibpool@ gibtelecom.net, www.gib8ball.com
Rhythmic Gymnastics: Gibraltar Rhythmic Gymnastics Association runs sessions from 4 years of age, weekday evenings. Tel: 56000772 or Sally 200 74661.
Rugby: Gibraltar Rugby caters for all ages from 4 years old to veterans (over 35’s). It organises competitions and sessions for Juniors; 4 x Senior Clubs; Veterans team; Touch Rugby and a Referees Society. Email admin@gibraltarrfu. com or visit www.gibraltarrfu.com
Sailing: Gibraltar Yachting Association junior/ senior competitive programme (April - Oct) Tel: Royal Gibraltar Yacht Club at 200 78897. Shooting: Gibraltar Shooting Federation. Rifle, Europa Point Range (Stephanie 54020760); Clay pigeon, East Side (Harry 200 74354); Pistol, near Royal Naval Hospital (Louis 54095000).
Snooker: Members of European Billiards & Snooker Association - facilities at Jumpers Bastion with 3 tables. Professional coaching for juniors/seniors. Organised leagues/ tournaments and participation in international competitions. Tel: 56262000 / 54000068, or info@gibraltarsnooker.com
Squash: Gibraltar Squash Association, Squash Centre, South Pavilion Road (members WSF & ESF). Adult and junior tournaments and coaching. Tel: 200 44922.
Sub-Aqua: Gibraltar Sub-Aqua Association taster dives for over 14s, tuition from local clubs. Voluntary sports clubs: Noah’s Dive Club and 888s Dive Club. Tel: 54991000. Commercial sports diving schools available. Time - Thursday 12:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m..
Telephone, Jenssen Ellul - 54027122
Swimming: Gibraltar Amateur Swimming Association (member FINA & LEN) opens its pool for leisure swimming. Junior lessons, squad for committed swimmers, water polo. Pool open Mon&Thurs: 7-10am, 12.30-4pm. Tue, Wed, Fri: 7-10am, 12:30-5pm. Sat: 3-5pm. Sun: closed. Mon to Fri from 5-6pm groups training. 6-7.30 squad training. Mon, Wed, Fri 7.30-8.30 swimming joggers, Tues & Thurs 7:30-8:30 junior Water polo. Mon, Tues & Thurs 8:30-10pm Adult water polo. Tel: 200 72869.
Table Tennis: Gibraltar Table Tennis Association training and playing sessions, Victoria Stadium, Tues 6-10pm and Thurs 8-11pm with coaching and league competition. Tel: 56070000 or 20060720.
Taekwondo: Gibraltar Taekwondo Association classes/gradings Tel: Mari 20044142 or www. gibraltartaekwondo.org
Tai Chi: Tai Chi for children and adults. MonThur 6.30-8pm at Kings Bastion Leisure Centre and Sat 9am-1pm at the Yoga Centre, 33 Town Range. Tel: Dilip 200 78714.
Tennis and Paddle Tennis: Sandpits Club. Junior and adult training available. info : www. sandpits.club. Tel (Louis) 20077035
Ten-Pin Bowling: At King’s Bowl in the King’s Bastion Leisure Centre every day. Gibraltar Ten Pin Bowling (members FIQ & WTBA) leagues, training for juniors and squad. Tel: 200 52442. Triathlon: Hercules Triathlon Club organises swimming, running and cycling training sessions and competes regularly in Andalucia and Internationally. Contact chris.walker@york.gi or Facebook
“Hercules Triathlon Club”
Volleyball: Gibraltar Volleyball Association training, indoor leagues, beach volleyball competition, 3 v 3 competition, juniors and seniors. Tel: 54001973 or 54885000.
Yoga: Integral Yoga Centre runs a full programme of classes from Mon-Fri at 33 Town Range. Tel: 200 41389. All welcome.
Theatrical Groups
Gibraltar Amateur Drama Association: Meet at Ince’s Hall Theatre Complex, 310 Main Street. Tel: 20042237.
Trafalgar Theatre Group: Meets 2nd Wed of month, Garrison
Library 8pm. All welcome.
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1. Worked hard for (7)
8. Insert, usually these days days for bodily insertions (7)
9. Facial indentations; Des O’Connor! (7)
10. Musically tender; a drink (7)
11. Cursed (5)
13. Lorelei and Delilah for example (9)
15. Keeping. Memorising (9)
18. Did nothing; what car out of gear did (5)
21. Portable overhead protection from the sun (7)
22. Mourns (7)
23. Musical; Windy City (7)
24. Stunned by the police (7)
1. Football teams; biases (5)
2. Shakespearean tragic lover (5)
3. 14th this month (10,3)
4. Astonish; take weapons from (6)
5. Chances (13)
6. US gangster who organised a massacre on 3 (6)
7. Leans forwards; American verandahs (6)
12. Sage; Ernie perhaps (4)
14. Parental horse perhaps (4)
15. Fill suitcase again (6)
16. Dr Who’s vehicle (6)
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& YOU COULD WIN lunch for two at
Write your name and either SNAP and SEND your completed crossword to editor@thegibraltarmagazine.com or RETURN TO THE CLIPPER by 20th February
Winners must collect their voucher from The Clipper, and use it within the same month of this publication.
THE WINNER IS:
Joe Vella
The annual Gibraltar tournament has become world famous for its strength, hospitality and opportunities for female players. This year there will be momentous changes and I am most grateful to the industrious press officer for the event, John Saunders, for the following details.
“Hitherto the Caleta Hotel has been home to the Gibraltar International Chess Festival throughout its 18 years of existence, but it is due to close and its eventual replacement won’t be available until some years into the future. But an ideal, intimate venue for the ten boards of the 2022 GibChess Battle of the Sexes match-tournament has been commissioned in the shape of Gibraltar’s historic Garrison Library. This beautiful building located in the heart of Gibraltar Town, dates back to the late 18th century and was constructed on the site of the previous Spanish governor’s residence. It was opened as a library by the Duke of Kent, Queen Victoria’s father, in 1804 and made available to just 150 subscribers (known as “proprietors”) who paid handsomely for the privilege of borrowing books and enjoying its exclusive facilities. They would have been officers of the garrison, as would the library staff, at a time when Gibraltar was a vital base for
naval operations in the Napoleonic War and a great many army and navy officers were stationed on the Rock.
For many years the library was the HQ of the Gibraltar Chronicle, the world’s second oldest English language newspaper, which was the first to publish the tragic news of Admiral Nelson’s death at the Battle of Trafalgar barely a year after the library opened. The venerable newspaper, which features extensive coverage of the Gibraltar International Chess Festival every year during tournaments, has since relocated to other premises but its archive remains amongst the library collection which has some 45,000 items, including rare volumes, as well as lithographs and art prints.
The GibChess event will occupy the upper floor of the library, with play taking place in the elegant and airy upper reading room, beneath a portrait of Colonel Drinkwater, the library’s founder. It is used as a space for conferences, recitals and lectures, but going back centuries it would have been a room where officers could read papers and books and smoke cigars. During the GibChess event it has become the base for the online commentary and press functions.
Play has been taking place at the Garrison Library from 24 January 2022 and continues until 3 February.”
Thanks once again to the excellent John Saunders for this fascinating information concerning the felicitous blending of two traditions.
Abdusattorov from Uzbekistan, has sensationally won the world rapid championship, relying heavily on a controversial line introduced by the great chess strategist Aron Nimzowitsch in 1926.
Aron Nimzowitsch vs Akiba Rubinstein
Dresden (1926)
English Opening
Awarded the prize for the bestplayed game.
1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5
4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nb4 6.Bc4 e6
7.O-O N8c6 8.d3 Nd4 9.Nxd4 cxd4 10.Ne2 a6 11.Ng3 Bd6
12.f4 O-O 13.Qf3 Kh8 14.Bd2 f5
15.Rae1 Nc6 16.Re2 Qc7 17.exf5 exf5
In other important developments, a new 17 year old star Nodirbek
18.Nh1!! A wonderful idea. White has in mind the manoeuvre Nh1f2-h3-g5, in conjunction with Qh5, as a method of assaulting the position of Black’s king. When I first read My System I was so impressed by this game that I deliberately created situations in my next few games where the move Ng3-h1 was possible, in the belief that this mystical retreat would somehow result in a miraculous increase of energy in my position, irrespective of whatever else may have been
happening on the board at the time. 18...Bd7 19.Nf2 Rae8
20.Rfe1 Rxe2 21.Rxe2 Nd8
22.Nh3 Bc6 23.Qh5 g6 24.Qh4
Kg7 25.Qf2 Another brilliant idea. The threat to the d-pawn forces Black to withdraw either his queen or his king’s bishop from the defence of his kingside. 25... Bc5 26.b4 Bb6 27.Qh4 Back again and with redoubled strength . 27... Re8 Or 27...Rf6 28 Ng5 h6 29
Nh7 +- 28.Re5! Nf7 If 28...Rxe5 29 fxe5 Qxe5 30 Qh6+ or 28... h6 29 g4 hxg4 30 f5 Qxe5 31 f6+ Qxf6 32 Qxh6 mate. These beautiful variations are just an indication of what Nimzowitsch saw. 29.Bxf7 Qxf7 30.Ng5 Qg8
31.Rxe8 Bxe8 32.Qe1! A decisive change of front. 32...Bc6 33.Qe7+ Kh8 34.b5!!
Nodirbek
Abdusattorov vs Magnus Carlsen
World Rapid Championship, Warsaw, December 2021
Question: with both sides having dangerous passed pawns, how did the 17 year old clinch victory?
Who would expect the deathblow to come from this quarter? If Black plays 34..axb5 he is mated as follows: 35 Ne6 h5 36 Qf6+ Kh7 37 Ng5+ Kh6 38 Bb4! In view of this, Rubinstein elects to surrender a piece but that too is obviously without hope. 34...Qg7
35.Qxg7+ Kxg7 36.bxc6 bxc6
37.Nf3 c5 38.Ne5 Bc7 39.Nc4 Kf7
40.g3 Bd8 41.Ba5 Be7 42.Bc7
Ke6 43.Nb6 h6 44.h4 g5 45.h5 g4
46.Be5 Black resigned.
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