Essential Gibraltar July 2013

COMPLIMENTARY EDITION

UNDISCOVERED

Ibiza Party

THE GOERS GUIDE

ISSUE 03 • JULY / AUGUST 2013

ESSENTIAL FOR LUXURIOUS LIVING

e

N º03 -JULY / AUGUST 2013

essential essential magazine® gibraltar

GIBRALTAR

IBIZA’S VIP

HOTELS FLIRTY

FASHION FROM

DESIGUAL

Audi A7

SPORTBACK THE ISLAND

Ibiza

sizzling

Games

ROAD, RAIL & SEA ADVERTURES

HAIL TAXI &

Gibraltar MUSIC FESTIVAL

N E W S I C U LT U R E I P E O P L E I T R E N D I S T Y L E I S P A I P R O I L E I S U R E I G O U R M E T & M O R E

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Two beautiful and unique homes from local designer builder Margarita Frankenhauser Taylor

El Cortijo – Sotogrande Alto Charming and perfectly detailed traditional Andalusian Cortijo, with Alhambra style courtyard, secluded mature gardens, large private pool, terraces and barbecue.

Exquisite tradicional detailing throughout, with antique doors and terracota flooring.

6 bedrooms (total) and 4 bathrooms Office/Study • Living and dining rooms both with fireplace • Fully equipped kitchen • Hall with WC • Storage room • Separate 2 bedroom guest apartment with fireplace, bathroom and small kitchen • Central heating • Carport for 3 cars Built: 280 m² Situated in a quiet street at the entrance to Sotogrande Alto. € 1,290,000

Andalucía Verde Country Property Development

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El Olivar - Gaucín The perfect modern country home, a newly built villa set in 4 ha of olive grove in production. The house is fully furnished, and is south facing, with three terraces and magnificent views down to Gibraltar, and across the sea to Africa.

4 Bedrooms, all en‐suite • Office • Open plan living and dining room • Fully equipped kitchen • Larder • Laundry • Central heating Very private and secluded.

Built: 280 m² 2km up to Gaucín, and 18km to the Autopista at Manilva, Málaga. € 1,250,000

For over three decades we have specialised in developing country residences, farms and estates. We also market existing agricultural businesses.

www.Andalucia-Verde.com Enquiries@Andalucia-Verde.com +34 952 117 451 +34 616 736 600 Gaucin, Ronda, London We speak Spanish, English, French and German

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Help us make a magazine that really reflects the Gibraltar way of life...

Please contribute to some of our most well-read sections!

Issue 03 • July/August 2013

S T A F F

THE PRO

PUBLISHER AND DIRECTOR

Have you organised a corporate or cultural event recently? Launched a new product or opened a new office and you want Gibraltar to know?

Send us information and we will consider it for placement in the Pro section.

GENERAL MANAGER

ANDREA BÖJTI sales@essentialmagazine.com

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

MARISA CUTILLAS editorial@essentialmagazine.com

GIBRALTAR EDITORIAL PRODUCTION MANAGER

GOURMET

ACCOUNTS EXECUTIVE OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR

For new openings, dining events and new products, our popular Food News page is the place to be seen.

Our restaurant listing section will become a reference when you consider dining out, so if your favourite place is not included, please let us know!

CREATIVE DIRECTOR DESIGN & LAYOUT

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

WHAT’S ON

GIBRALTAR PHOTOGRAPHY

Our What’s On section is designed to keep readers up-to-date on forthcoming events including shows, clubs and meetings, either a specific or a reccuring event. If you are an organiser, let us help you get your message across to the whole of Gibraltar!

IAIN BLACKWELL director@essentialmagazine.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY PRINTING DEPÓSITO LEGAL

AMY WILLIAMS amy@essentialmagazine-gibraltar.com SUSANNE WHITAKER design@essentialmagazine.com MARIANO JEVA cuentas@essentialmagazine.com MONIKA BÖJTI info@essentialmagazine.com

ANDREA BÖJTI INMA AURIOLES MELINDA SZARVAS KEVIN HORN JON SEGUI jon@essentialmagazine-gibraltar.com IAIN BLACKWELL, BELINDA BECKETT, ROCIO CORRALES, MICHEL CRUZ, RIK FOXX, VERÓNICA GUERRA, CATHY HILL, AJ LINN, TONY WHITNEY PICDESK.COM / MARC ADRIAN JIMÉNEZ GODOY A. GRÁFICAS, MURCIA D.L. MA-512-99

PRODUCT / COMPANY PROFILE Do you have a special company or product that our readers should know more about? Send us details and we’ll consider it for a profile feature in one of our upcoming editions.

EDITORIAL & ADVERTISING OFFICES COMPLEJO LA PÓVEDA, BLQ. 3, 1º A, CN 340, KM 178, 29600 MARBELLA, MÁLAGA. TEL: 952 766 344 FAX: 952 766 343

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The publishers make every effort to ensure that the magazine’s contents are correct, but cannot accept Marbella Magazine cannot accept responsibility for the effects of errors or omissions. responsibility for the claims, goods or services of advertisers.

Marbella Magazine. © Publicaciones Independientes Costa del Sol S.L. for No part of this magazine, including texts, photographs, illustrations, maps or any other graphics may be reproduced in any form without the prior written consent of Publicaciones Independientes Costa del Sol S.L. Printed on recyclable paper, produced without wood and bleached without chlorine.

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contents The Trend Cinema 14 Home Viewing 16 Books 18 Music 20 Cars: The Audi A7 Sportback 22 Gadgets 24

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The Focus

26 Clubbing in Ibiza 34 VIP Hotels in Ibiza 40 Stephen Lloyd-Morgan 42 Gibraltar Music Festival 44 The NatWest Island Games 48 The Algeciras-Ronda Railway 54 HMS Pickle 56 Tim Bristow 58 Julian Lennon 60 Dylan Ferro of Taxi

g The Style DĂŠcor: The Sails Penthouse 64 Fashion: Desigual 70

The Spa Health: The Hotel Aguas de Ibiza Spa 76 Health: Vitamin D, Gift from the Sun 78

The Pro Enterprise 80 Business Profile: Key2Gib 84

The Leisure 86 Rock Tours

The Gourmet 92 The Yellow House 94 Jean Leon Organic Wines 96 Wines from the Baleares

The Guide 97 Listings

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Winner of the Gibraltar’s Leading Hotel Award since 2009 The AA’s highest rated hotel in Gibraltar

...the other side of Gibraltar

SIR HERBERT MILES ROAD, CATALAN BAY, PO BOX 73, GIBRALTAR. TEL: +350 20076501 Gibraltar's leading hotel since 2009

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AA’s highest rated hotel in Gibraltar

Two AA Rosettes for Culinary Excellence

www.caletahotel.com - reservations@caletahotel.gi

3/1/13 12:37 PM

publisher’s letter WORDS BY IAIN BLACKWELL

W

hile the rest of Spain smoulders in the summer sun and struggles in La Crisis, coastal hot-spots like Marbella and Mallorca are experiencing a revival, with property purchase again on the move and record numbers of visitors predicted during July & August, giving cause for renewed optimism. Meanwhile, the iconic Island of Ibiza is eclipsing all, as we will see in these pages, with reports on its world-famous clubs, coolest VIP hotels and top personalities.

Gibraltar is also hotting-up for a sizzling summer and we bring you a dazzling issue hot off-thepress full of searing content to match. July see’s the XV Island Games being held in Bermuda and we focus on Gibraltar’s participation in these and, in particular, on the Triathlon team sponsored by Pure IP and headed up by Chris Walker. We also set out on a Rail, Road and Sea adventure with a scenic journey aboard the Algeciras – Ronda train; a trip up The Rock, courtesy of Rock Tours; and an informative visit to HMS Pickle, moored at Ocean Village.

Movers and shakers abound in this allencompassing edition: don’t miss our exclusive interviews with Tim Bristow, CEO of Gibtelecom, Julian Lennon on the occasion of his recent visit to Gibraltar, Dylan Ferro, lead singer of Taxi and Stephen Lloyd Morgan, talking about twin shows West End Musicals in Concert and Encore! – The 3 Tenors.

Elsewhere, we have sumptuous style, as epitomised by the design of luxury penthouse The Sails and in the sleek lines of the new Audi A7 Sportback, classic cuisine from The Yellow House in Parliament Lane and great organic wines from iconic winery Jean León.

Stay cool in the heat and have a great summer!

Incredible

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If it’s time to fill up...

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Whether it’s your car, yacht or private jet you can expect highly competitive fuel prices due to Gib Oil's advantageous tax position along with quality products and quick, efficient service.

Beyond Gibraltar, Gib Oil can manage all global fuel requirements, throughout your worldwide journey.

Contact us Telephone: +350 2000 3400 GPS: 36˚ 8' 42" N 05˚ 4' 56" W www.giboil.com Authorised Distributor for Shell Lubricants in Gibraltar.

All you need is GBC

Bringing Music to Your Ears & Gibraltar to your Screen

GBC Television

Radio Gibraltar

GBC Online

available on Gibraltar Freeview and gbc.gi

91.3, 92.6 & 100.5FM, 1458AM, DAB+, gbc.gi and Gibraltar Freeview

available at gbc.gi

Island Games 2013 Throughout July

Stuff About Us

Fri, Sat & Sun nights

Guess This!

Mon, Thu & Sat nights

Sessions

Mon, Wed & Sun nights

Diversity

Thu, Fri & Sat nights

Weekdays: 7 am – Ben Lynch 10 am – Ros Astengo 1 pm – James Neish 2 pm – Teresa Goncalves 4 pm – Sid Olivera Overnight: Latest Hits, Classic Songs, non-stop

GBC TV Live

GBC TV Watch Again Radio Gibraltar Live

Radio Gibraltar Listen Again Latest Local News

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Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation Broadcasting House, 18 South Barrack Road, Gibraltar Tel: (+350) 200 79760 (all departments) I Fax: (+350) 200 78673 I E-mail: info@gbc.gi

6/28/13 1:07 PM

trend READING / MUSIC / FILMS / GADGETS / MOTORING / TRENDS

Summer has officially arrived and once again, visitors both international and from the northern parts of Spain are calling coastal havens like Ibiza, Marbella and Gibraltar home for the two happiest months of the year. Whether whiling your cares away on a sunbed or delighting in air conditioned interiors is your thing, we have no doubt that we’ll keep you entertained with our cinematic and musical suggestions, as well as the world’s coolest water gadgets and the new Audi A7 Sportback!

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Cinema

16

Home Viewing

18

Books

20

Music

22

Cars: The Audi A7 Sportback

24

Gadgets

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trend CINEMA

WORDS MARISA CUTILL

AS

e BLOCKBUSTER

OF THE MONTH

s s e n k r a D o t n I k Star Tre » GENRE Thriller ams » DIRECTOR J.J. AbrCumberbatch, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto » ACTORS Benedict

called back starship Enterprise is When the crew of the hin their own wit t a powerful force home, they discover tha ptain Kirk Ca g din lea t, ee oyed the fl sed such organisation has destr cau o wh unt for the terrorist , love and to commence a manh life of as ide his k hin ced to ret has always devastation. Kirk is for he t tha to face the one thing friendship in an effort : his crew. been able to count on

» GENRE Drama/Romance » DIRECTOR Marco Tulio

Giordana (One Hundred Steps)

» ACTORS Luigi Lo Cascio,

Alessio Boni, Adriana Asti

The Best of Youth » GENRE Comedy » VOICES Christina Ricci, Neil Patrick Harris, Anton Yelchin

The Smurfs 2

In this sequel to animated/live action blockbuster comedy The Smurfs, an evil wizard creates a couple of Smurf-like creatures called Naughties, whom he hopes will lead him to the highly coveted Smurf-essence. When the wizard discovers that only a real smurf has Smurf-essence, and that only Smurfette has the power to turn the Naughties into real Smurfs, he abducts and takes her to Paris to further his evil scheme.

Back home, Papa, Clumsy, Grouchy and Vanity team up with their human friends Patrick and Grace to bring Smurfette back home.

The Best of Youth retells some of the most important events that took place in Italy between the 1960s and the 2000s, by following the lives of two brothers: Nicola, a gifted Psychiatrist, and his brother Matteo, a brutal policeman. In tracing the brothers’ defining moments, the audience is invited to relive moments such as the flooding of Florence, the battles against the Mafia in Sicily and the violent radicalism that threatened the democratic state in the 1970s. The Best of Youth has garnered wide critical acclaim in the US; we predict it will fare equally well in Spain.

» GENRE Comedy » DIRECTOR Jon Lucas, Scott Moore

» ACTORS Miles Teller, Justin

» GENRE Animation » DIRECTOR Pierre Coffin,

Chris Renaud (Despicable Me) » VOICES Al Pacino, Steve Carell

Despicable Me 2

Gru, our favourite villain and father of three, is back in the game with cool cars, gadgets, weapons and his army of minions, all of which he will rely upon heavily to defeat a powerful villain named Eduardo (Al Pacino).

Chon, Skylar Astin, Sarah Wright

21 and Over

21 and Over is the story of two friends who decide to celebrate the ultimate 21st birthday party with a night of booze and wild partying, the night before an important interview with the Dean of the University they wish to attend. One beer leads to another, Hangover style, and before they know it, a simple party turns into a downward spiral of chaos which they somehow come out of alive.

» GENRE Adventure » DIRECTOR Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean)

» ACTORS Johnny Depp, Armie

Hammer, Tom Wilkinson

The Lone Ranger

Native American warrior, Tonto, narrates the story of John Reid, one of America’s greatest heroes, known to this day as the Lone Ranger. Tonto and John seem to have little in common at first, but they discover that they will never find the man who killed John’s brother, until they join forces.

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trend HOME VIEWING

WORDS MARISA CUTILLAS

Django Unchained

This utterly original Western tells the tale of Django, a freed slave contracted to help talented mercenary and former Dentist, Dr. Schultz (Christoph Waltz) capture and put an end to the most dangerous criminals in the country.

Django agrees to do what he is asked, on the condition that Schultz help reunite him with his wife, Broomhilda, previously sold as a slave to a cruel crime lord (Leonardo DiCaprio). Despite the rather excessive dosage of violence (which is only to be expected of any Tarantino film), this is a thrilling, humorous adventure filled with characters who are as charismatic as they are eccentric.

» GENRE Western » DIRECTOR Quentin Tarantino

(Pulp Fiction) » ACTORS Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio

e

The Sessions

OF THE MONTH FEATURED DVD RELEASE » GENRE

Biography » DIRECTOR Steven) List Spielberg (Schindler’s

» ACTORS

Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn

Lincoln

last four months Lincoln focuses on the Lincoln’s life, of President Abraham the 13th ify rat when he fought to nstitution to Co US the to t Amendmen President The y. formally abolish slaver ian, not litic po d ew shr a is revealed as tics to tac sly r he above resorting to rat s. can eri Am ck bla for ensure freedom es fac n col Lin The greatest difficulty rt from both the lies in obtaining suppo icans in order for Democrats and Republ ed. He must avoid ifi rat e the bill to becom ican supporter losing even one Republ entatives, and res in the House of Rep rters, without po sup t cra mo gain 20 De d by his most ne his loyalty being questio . ers fervent follow

» GENRE Crime/Thriller » DIRECTOR Christopher McQuarrie (Valkyrie)

» GENRE Drama » DIRECTOR Ben Lewin

(Hollywood Gold)

» ACTORS John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy

This delightful indie film is based on an essay by poet Mark O’Brien, who was paralysed from the neck-down after suffering from a bout of polio. The main character, Mark, has been living in an iron lung almost all his life, making it difficult to have a normal life, a group of friends, and, of course, sex. Sensing he may be close to death, he hires a professional sex surrogate for a series of sessions. Problems arise when Mark and the surrogate begin having feelings for each other, and Mark begins to hope for a future he had always thought was beyond his reach.

» ACTORS Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins

» GENRE Romance/

Jack Reacher

Comedy

» DIRECTOR

Susanne Bier (Things We Lost in the Fire) » ACTORS Pierce Brosnan, Trine Dyrholm, Paprika Steen

Love Is All You Need

Not your typical rom-com, Love Is All You Need delves into the right of all people to be loved, even (or especially) when they are at the lowest point in their lives. The delightful Trine Dryholm plays Ida, a middle-aged mother of two whose life is turned upside down when she develops breast cancer and discovers that her husband is having an affair. As the family (her husband’s mistress included) heads for the Amalfi coast to attend the wedding of Ida’s daughter, Ida meets Philip, a handsome widower who understands a lot more than she thinks about sickness, loss and restored hope.

If you enjoyed the crime/thriller genre in the 1980s, this film will definitely be up your street. Simple yet tense, serious yet laden with irony, it commences with a brutal mass murder in a public park. When investigations lead nowhere, intelligence specialist, Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) is called upon to save the day. With the help of a beautiful young lawyer (Rosamund Pike), Jack discovers that in the same way the JFK assassination was not quite what it seemed, this apparently ‘arbitrary’ shooting is actually part of a well thoughtout plan that touches even the highest levels of government.

16 / JULY/AUGUST 2013 ESSENTIALMAGAZINE.COM

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What you see is what you get Do you like a banking partner that speaks to you frankly about, products and services?

We do. Therefore, we believe in open communication: What you see is what you get, no hidden surprises.

Jyske Bank (Gibraltar) Ltd. • Tel. +350 200 59205 • www.jyskebank.gi Jyske Bank (Gibraltar) Ltd. is licensed by the Financial Services Commission, Licence No. FSC 001 00B. Services and products are not available to everybody, for instance not to residents of the US.

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trend BOOKS

WORDS MARISA CUTILLAS

SUMMER LOVING

1 WEDDING NIGHT BY SOPHIE KINSELLA

Indulge your reflective side and feel the emotion in these romantic reads, as balmy and sensual as the first summer you fell in love.

Lottie is tired of dating commitment phobes. Feeling completely let down by her current boyfriend, who suggests a dream holiday instead of a walk down the aisle, she reconnects with Ben, an old flame whom she had once made a pact with: to get married if they were both still single at the age of 30. The crazy couple decide to do just that: tie the knot with no dates, no formalities, no fuss and they head for the romantic island of Ikonos for their honeymoon. Horrified by Lottie’s seemingly desperate decision, her sister teams up with Ben’s best friend to stop the couple from making the biggest mistake of their lives.

5 THE SUMMER GARDEN

BY PAULLINA SIMONS

2 ONE PERFECT SUMMER BY PAIGE TOON

In this Grease-style young adult novel, young couple Alice and Joe meet while holidaying in Dorset. After spending every waking moment together, the summer ends and Alice returns to Cambridge to study at University, wondering why Joe cannot be contacted. The months pass by and Alice’s broken heart heals. She meets a rich, handsome, intelligent man and they begin to make plans for the future. But suddenly, Joe arrives and he cannot be with her, for a reason she would never have imagined. Alice secretly dreams of rekindling the summer romance that changed her life forever.

3 THE SUMMER GUEST BY JUSTIN CRONIN

Winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award for his entertaining novel, Mary and O’Neil, Justin Cronin impresses us once again with The Summer Guest, which delves into the last few days of the life of financial tycoon, Harry Wainwright.

It is summertime and Harry decides to head for a rustic fishing camp in Maine. He brings only two things with him: his fishing equipment and a bequest that will greatly alter the lives of those he most cares for.

Intimate, passionate, and profound, The Summer Guest reveals Justin Cronin’s unique talent for telling tales that are as entertaining as they are touching.

4 PRODIGAL SUMMER BY BARBARA KINGSOLVER

Barbara Kingsolver has been praised for her “extravagantly gifted narrative voice”, a gift which abounds in this beautiful hymn to the inherently wild nature of the human soul and of the environment.

Prodigal Summer interweaves three different stories into a rich tapestry of lives, both animal and human, that inhabit the southern Appalachia region. At the heart of the narrative is Deanna, a reclusive Biologist who observes the forest from her isolated cottage. Her peaceful existence is threatened by the appearance of a young hunter who invades her privacy and puts an end to her beloved solitude. On a farm several kilometers away on the same mountain, Lusa, a farmer’s wife is at odds with her deceased husband’s family. A little further away lives a pair of elderly neighbours who never cease to argue about God, pesticides and philosophy. Over the course of one sultry summer, this odd group of characters become connected to each other and to the flora and fauna which surrounds them.

The Summer Garden is the third book in the best-selling The Bronze Horseman trilogy. The novel continues the story of Tatiana, a young girl in Leningrad who falls in love with an officer from the Red Army during World War II. When the book begins, Tatiana and her lover (and husband), Shura, are married and living in the US. They have just had a beautiful son, Anthony, but after having been separated for years, they seem like strangers to each other. Moreover, adjusting to life in Cold War America is not easy; it involves various moves, economic hardship and political complications. All they long for is a normal life yet despite almost losing everything, they never give up on each other.

18 / JULY/AUGUST 2013 ESSENTIALMAGAZINE.COM

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experience

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BMI's portfolio of properties in Gibraltar includes lettings, sales and commercial properties for sale.

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w w w. b m i g r o u p . g i 29/4/13 08:26:10

trend MUSIC

¿QUÉ PASA?

WORDS RIK FOXX

Now GAGA is back on her feet, normal service is resumed – wigs, strange clothes, and back on the skyscraper platforms – one of the reasons she had to have the hip operation in the first place. And her Twitter bicker with KELLY OSBOURNE is back on. The daughter of OZZY said, “I loved Lady Gaga. I totally believed in everything she stood for, until I realised she’s a great big hypocrite.” And mother SHARON, who got involved in last year’s verbal vendetta, will no doubt unleash her viper tongue if the two carry on.

BON JOVI did their reputation no harm after giving up their fee for a recent Madrid show to keep ticket prices low. Lead singer JON BON JOVI said: “When we started planning our tour we did a study and found that, due to the economic situation, Spain wouldn’t be on the roadmap.

However, we didn’t want to ditch the fans of a country I love and has treated me so well for 30 years.”

STARLIGHT FESTIVAL UPDATE Marbella’s Starlight Festival begins on July 23 and BRYAN ADAMS plays on the 24th followed by JAMIE CULLUM on the 27th. For ticket info: www.starlitefestival.com. The MARK KNOPFLER concert at Málaga’s Plaza de Toros on July 27 has not sold out yet. Tickets are available from FNAC and Carrefour, on line at www.ticketmaster.es or by phone on 902 15 00 25. The annual Terral music festival takes place this month at Málaga’s Teatro de Cervantes. No major names this year – for the line-up, go to www.teatrocervantes.com.

Pop motor mouth PETE WATERMAN has blasted the ROLLING STONES as “old farts” who are too ancient to tour. “You wouldn’t see ANDY WILLIAMS at Glastonbury, would ya?” First of all he played the festival in 2009, and he couldn’t play there now as he died in 2012. On July 6 the STONES will play the first of two dates at Hyde Park London, exactly 44 years and a day after their legendary free gig there – two days after the original group leader and guitarist BRIAN JONES had been found dead in his swimming pool.

PHARRELL WILLIAMS (singer on Get Lucky) reckons the DAFT PUNK LP Random Access Memories will “change mankind”. The album has already topped the charts in 22 countries including Spain.

The mysterious French electro duo were recently caught without their trademark crash helmets and one of them resembles the late KENNY EVERETT.

And the NICKI MINAJ / MARIAH CAREY bitch fest might be over as both have left American Idol. The latter’s new album will be released on July 23 while the former is set to start filming her big screen acting debut in the comedy flick The Other Woman with CAMERON DIAZ.

2013 hasn’t been a good year for TULISA: she is no longer on the easy-money Y Factor pay-roll, her love life is in tatters, she was supposedly snubbed by WILL.I.AM and now these drug allegations. The 24-year-old who was recently down here sunning herself had dreams of conquering Hollywood after being offered the female lead in the sports comedy Intramural.

If found guilty she may have trouble entering the US and many reckon all she will have to look forward to will be ITV2’s The Big Reunion.

Comedian JIMMY CARR summed it all up saying “She already has a criminal record – her solo album last year”.

A new SPICE GIRLS song has surfaced; the previously unreleased song, Strong Enough, interpolates the 1981 TOM TOM CLUB track Wordy Rappinghood and is said to have been uploaded from a cassette that MEL B previously sold at an auction. Meanwhile OLD SPICE (GERI) got a warm welcome when arriving in Australia. She tweeted, “I stepped in koala poo & he peed on my bag”. Her management have sent her Down Under to be a judge on Australia’s Got Talent.

To finish, what’s going on with GEORGE MICHAEL? Loads of good gags doing the rounds and unfortunately all are unprintable, but one tabloid had the headline ‘Scrape Me Up Before You Go Slow’ and the joke around town says he should invest in one of these new computerised Volvo cars that never crash.

20 / JULY/AUGUST 2013 ESSENTIALMAGAZINE.COM

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trend MOTORING

When Audi decided to add performance versions of most of its vehicles a few years back, it took the rather subtle step of simply replacing the traditional ‘A,’ as in A4, A6, A8 and so on, with the letter ‘S.’ It may seem to be a modest way of trumpeting your fastest and most agile cars, but Audi likes it that way and so, it seems, do its customers. The cars are very popular and the S now has a special cachet with Audi products that’s every bit as significant as the AMG of Mercedes-Benz or the M of BMW.

T

he best way of finding out how good these cars can be is to get behind the wheel of a few 2013 models, as I did recently, and go for a drive. My most recent experience was with an S7 Sportback, which is certainly the most visually striking of all Audi S-cars.

One glance at an Audi S7 Sportback (or the less powerful A7 Sportback for that matter) and it’s clear that the car is bound to be compared with the Mercedes-Benz CLS. When Mercedes first introduced the motoring world to the ‘four-door coupé’ configuration with its CLS, it was clear that other upscale manufacturers would follow with

versions of their own. The idea of a full five-seat (four with some makes) automobile that looks more like a sporty coupé was well accepted by buyers of luxury cars. It wasn’t long before BMW had a contender with its rather awkward-looking 5-Series Gran Turismo and even VW got into the act with its Passat CC. The great thing about Audi’s S7 Sportback is that it has a nice big hatchback which opens to reveal an impressive load floor – especially when the rear seats are folded down. Quite apart from the car’s many dynamic qualities, this must make it one of the best luxury touring cars on the market and quite

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AUDI S7 WORDS TONY WHITNEY PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF AUDI

SPORTBACK LUXURY 4-DOOR PERFORMANCE ‘COUPE’

Z ENGINE: 4.0-litre twin turbo V-8 Z TRANSMISSION: 7-speed automatic with manual mode Z ACCELERATION: Zero to 100 km/h in approx 3.9-seconds Z TOP SPEED: Approx. 280 km/h Z I LIKED: Awesome amounts of power, great handling, very original styling approach which really makes the car stand out. As with all Audis, the S7 is superbly built and right in there with any Mercedes or BMW. Z I DIDN’T LIKE: Not much with this one!

It’s expensive, but worth the money, though extra equipment and upgrades are costly.

Z MARKET ALTERNATIVES: No rival has anything quite like it, but buyers may also be looking at the Mercedes-Benz AMG saloons, BMW ‘M-cars’ and products like the Porsche Panamera and Maserati Quattroporte.

Z WHO DRIVES ONE? Buyers looking for a very individualistic upscale performance saloon who want something a little different from the norm. Drivers who want maximum performance in a very practical package – there’s nothing in this class with a hatchback and as much cargo space.

Z PRICE AND AVAILABILITY: Available now at around €96.110

possibly the most practical of its class ever developed.

During my test, I used the car to move some fairly large pieces of furniture, which it swallowed quite easily in its 1,390-litre cargo space. I felt a little guilty for using this amazing and powerful machine for mere load-hauling, but it does prove that a supercar (and the S7 fits that category, as we’ll see) can be practical too.

The S7 is a thoroughly modern design and has great ‘road presence’ which prompts lots of curious glances out on the highway. It’s a great car for someone who values individuality in an automobile and doesn’t want to drive the same luxury car as thousands of others out there. If the S7 is a little too much in terms of flat-out performance, buyers can opt for the less potent A7 with its V-6 engine.

The S7 is powered by a remarkable and highlyresponsive 420-horsepower twin-turbo V-8 that provides what seems like limitless power and silky smoothness.

It’s mated to a 7-speed automatic transmission with manual shifters on the steering wheel. This impressive level of power is nicely controlled by Audi’s outstanding Quattro all-wheel drive, so it’s not one of those powerhouse cars that will get away from you on a raindrenched corner. The power is so effortless that it’s wise to keep a close eye on the speedometer – aided on the model I drove by a very clear and easy-to-scan headup display projected onto a patch on the windshield.

The speed display sits almost in the average driver’s line of sight without being obtrusive so it takes barely a glance to read it. A similar engine to the one under the bonnet of this Audi is used in the Bentley Continental GT (Bentley being part of the VW/Audi Group) and I’d

rate this outstanding piece of engineering as among the very best power units anywhere in the world right now.

As with even the least expensive Audi, the interior is very well executed – I especially liked the quilted leather seats which looked both racy and luxurious.

Sitting behind the wheel of an S7 is a very rewarding experience and the cabin ambiance is as good as anything in the industry – especially from a design standpoint. Everything is pretty well where it should be and there are some interesting safety features too. My test S7 came with a blind spot warning system which functions by displaying LEDs on the back of the door mirror when a vehicle is sitting in your blind spot. We’ve all had the experience of beginning a lane change when a passing vehicle isn’t visible either by mirrors or an over-the-shoulder glance (every car ever built has a blind spot somewhere, it seems). Another remarkable safety system that’s available as an extra with the A7 is a night vision camera that displays an image on an instrument panel screen. It shows up people and even small animals way down the road that you’d never spot with the naked eye at night. It’s a bit like watching the closing scenes of the movie Zero Dark Thirty, which is viewed through the night vision goggles of the attacking Navy SEAL unit, but it sure adds a road safety bonus.

The S7 Sportback certainly rates among the world’s great cars right now. It is expensive, as might be expected, but it has great individuality, a most impressive twin-turbo V-8 engine, superlative comfort and ready-for-the-track handling. There’s not much more you can ask of a luxury saloon that delivers not only serious power, but surprising practicality too. e

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trend ELECTRONICS

WATER RESISTANT SMARTPHONE BY TAG HEUER: The Androidbased Sub Nano smartphone boasts Tag Heuer’s ground-breaking ‘Waterblock’ nano-technology, which keeps its internal mechanism from getting wet, even during an adrenalin-charged jet ski or diving session. i www.tagheuer.com

Water WAY COOL

GADGETS

WORDS MARISA CUTILLAS

If, like most summer worshippers, you spend most of your time in the water, you don’t need to give up your love for technology; just fill your speedboat with these luxury gadgets and stay entertained on the days when dropping your anchor in the high seas most appeals…

SEA-DOO GTX S 155 JET SKI: This

luxurious looking ski jet boasts adjustable suspension, so riders of different weights can select their own private ‘bounce level’. i www.sea-doo.com

WATERPROOF PHONE BY SONY:

The new Xperia Z by Sony packs a quad-core 1.5 Ghz Snapdragon processor, 2 GB of RAM and a 13 megapixel camera which also records HQ video.. i www.sony.com

ELECTRIC BIKE FOR YACHTS: This electric folding bike weighs just 11.5 kg, packs up in 15 seconds and travels at 23 km/h, following a 50-minute charge. i www.superyachttendersandtoys.com

GO PRO CAMERA: This little gadget is one of the most popular among seafarers, since it allows you to capture and share videos while you’re on the move. i www.es.gopro.com

TOWEL MATE: This may look like your ordinary

beach towel, but it actually is THE ultimate beach towel, since it comes with an incorporated pillow and has a secret zippered pocket for gadget and wallet storage. i www.towelmate.com

JETLEV FLYER: Enjoy an exciting jetpack ride, fly in the air at a height of 8.5 metres above water and travel across the sea at an amazing 40km/h! i www.superyachttendersandtoys.com 24 / JULY/AUGUST 2013 ESSENTIALMAGAZINE.COM

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CULTURE / HISTORY / FEATURES

focus FAMOUS PEOPLE / INTERVIEWS / HUMOUR

Ibiza has a special brand of magic and it’s not just because it is one of the coolest places to party; we hope you enjoy our features on this island’s clubbing scene and top hotels. On the local front, we gear up for the NatWest Island Games (taking place this month in Bermuda) and focus on the participation of Gibraltar’s triathlon team.

We hop aboard the HMS Pickle and bring you an in-depth report on the Algeciras-Ronda railway. Finally, don’t miss our interviews with Tim Bristow, CEO of Gib Telecom; Julian Lennon, recently in Gibraltar to visit The Beatles Memorabilia Exhibition; and Dylan Ferro, lead singer of Taxi.

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Clubbing in Ibiza

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VIP Hotels in Ibiza

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Stephen Lloyd-Morgan

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Gibraltar Music Festival

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The NatWest Island Games

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The Algeciras-Ronda Railway

54

HMS Pickle

56

Tim Bristow

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Julian Lennon

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Dylan Ferro of Taxi

6/28/13 4:53 PM

Party Pacha style

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THE FOCUS profile

D

avid Guetta was just a 13-year-old kid in Paris when his teacher attempted to convince him of the importance of learning maths. “I don’t need maths,” he answered, “I already know what I want to be – a DJ”. One year later, at the age of 14, he was throwing parties in his basement as a way of sharing his passion for hip-hop beats with his friends. David’s dreams were small, by all means manageable: all he wanted was to make a living off music; if possible, to be a resident DJ at a popular club. By 18, he had hit the bullseye, playing hip-hop beats to a largely gay audience at Broad club in Paris.

Soon, hip-hop began to morph into the electronic beats of house and a new genre of music was born. “What David Guetta symbolises is translation,” says will.i.am, in an enlightening documentary on David Guetta’s life, Nothing but the Beat. “He brought house and dance music culture to people who hadn’t heard it before.” But for David, this new brand of music was much more than that. He explains: “The history of house music can be traced to the death of disco. People used to burn disco records in stadiums and this not only spelled the end of disco; it was also a very racist act. House music was all about playing drum machines and adding disco samples here and there; it was about rescuing disco and recycling it into something new.”

DJs like David Morales, Pete Tong and Fatboy Slim may be Gods of the current Electronic Dance Music (EMD) scene, but they are all old enough to recall how different club life was in the 80s and 90s.

“Back then, people went to a particular club because they had heard that the music there was good. Nobody knew which DJ was playing there and nobody cared. We certainly didn’t care. All we wanted was to play music; to get paid for it was a miracle,” says Guetta. Fast forward to the 21st century, where David Guetta plays to packed clubs and concert halls housing 80,000 people or more. “The DJ is no longer the person playing music in the corner,” he says, “people go to see a DJ now in the same way they used to go to see a rock star play so I definitely interact with the audience a lot,” he says.

Indeed, it is typical to see him pumping his fists in the air and jumping for joy, a dazzling display of light in the background adding a distinctly concert-like feel to his performances. Kelly Rowland, who helped catapult his single When Love Takes Over to number one in 2009 and who often

D I V A D

A T T E GU

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© Christian Bertrand / Shutterstock.com

performs live alongside David, gushes, “His music gets higher and bigger and louder and suddenly you’re asking yourself, ‘Am I really flying now?’”

It was at the start of his career that David would meet a crucial pillar of his meteoric rise to success: his wife, Cathy, an ‘it’ girl on the Parisian social scene and also a savvy Club Manager. In 1994, David and Cathy took over the management of Paris’ answer to New York’s Studio 54: Le Palace, owned by Parisian socialite Fabrice Emaer, known as The Prince of the Night and proponent of the philosophy that clubbing should be about providing a meeting point for interesting people from all walks of life.

Le Palace was a colourful hotchpotch of artists, intellectuals, celebrities, designers and of course, young people who just wanted to dance like there was no tomorrow. Cathy and David also began planning their own parties while David DJ’d at many local clubs, though it wasn’t until 1994 that they landed in Ibiza with their magic wand, transforming it into the place to be every year when the nights are warm and their F*** Me I’m Famous parties – the event has attracted everyone from Kate Moss to Leonardo di Caprio, Jean Paul Gaultier and Dolce and Gabbana. Says Cathy, “A client kept insisting that we simply had to go to Ibiza and one December we decided to take his advice. In just one night we visited Privilege (the world’s largest night club according to the Guinness Book of World Records), Pacha, Space… it was really special to me. We went there on a holiday but experienced a revelation.”

The Guettas were so enamoured, they decided to call Ibiza home (though the ‘home’ is often anywhere the Guettas’ private jet lands for a performance or party).

Cathy recalls being pregnant with her first child and handing out flyers for their first F*** Me I’m Famous party in 2000: “People would laugh at us,” she says, “especially the British,” yet the

party’s ethos, which harks back to the hardcore clubbing philosophy of David’s teen years, struck a chord with both members of the local jetset and revellers who were serious about EDM. According to David, F*** Me I’m Famous “serves as a meeting point for people who don’t normally mix. The social barriers come down – there are not many places where you can find a superstar next to a billionaire, a model dancing next to a student.” The event’s popularity probably has as much to do with Cathy’s savoir faire, as it does with David’s talent at creating hit tracks. “Cathy brings the glamorous set to the parties and I bring the crazy people,” he laughs, highlighting the secret of their success as a couple and as business partners: their differences. “Cathy loves fashion and going to fashion shows. I prefer to stay home and work on my beats,” he says, admitting that she will often advise him on how to act in videos, which he finds the least appealing part of his job. “Be careful, you look like an idiot!”, Cathy sometimes tells him, always, of course, with plenty of love.

Cathy and David recently celebrated their 20th anniversary by renewing their vows, and in Nothing But the Beat, she often speaks of their early days together: “We raised each other. When we met we weren’t even adults. I remember sharing an apartment that was smaller than this

hotel room. We had no money, we used to fight and I really feel like when you have been to war with someone it gives you a relationship that is really unique. We had bad days and happy days, we cried, but we shared everything together.

Always together.” will.i.am speaks of Cathy’s influence on David’s success: “Did she play a role in it? Hell yeah, she did.” For will.i.am, the fact that the stunning Cathy often features alongside David in posters for F*** Me I’m Famous, is nothing short of “sh** hot!” David and Cathy have two children: a boy called Elvis (born in 2004) and a girl called Angie (2007).

By the time the Guettas had settled in Ibiza, David was already one of the most highly-sought DJs in the world, playing to packed crowds in the US, South America, Australia, Japan and beyond.

He soon released two hit albums – Just A Little More Love (2002) and Guetta Blaster (2004). In 2006 his mash-up Love Don’t Let Me Go was a Top 10 hit around the world, while his F*** Me I’m Famous CDs have hit triple gold. Albums like Pop Life (2007), One Love (2009) and Nothing But the Beat (2011) have all topped the charts worldwide, making a David a highly sought collaborator and Producer (the biggest of the big – Rihanna, will.i.am, Akon, Flo Rida and Nicki Minaj, have all succumbed to the Guetta magic).

Often criticised for being “too commercial”, David simply aims to stay true to love of music: “Some DJs say pop is a dirty word, but I’m trying to be different. It’s difficult, but my aim is to be played by the super cool DJs of the world and to be heard on the radio as well. That’s very hard.” Then again, when it comes to David and Cathy Guetta, is easy to believe that even the biggest Goliath, can be taken down. “Our life is a miracle,” says Cathy, and as she jumps into their private jet, off to the next party, we somehow believe her. e

s t n a i G f o s r e d l u o h S e h t n o g n i Stand

r l dw i d e o w d n a s K the US, nUes. Marisa Cutiltlaa. n i s t r a h iTu ec ue t ic tops thng of all time onepreneur, David G s u m s i h o , r Faceboookst downloaded ps roducer and ent n o s r e w , llo em : DJ million ofotta Feeling, is thous adopted son 0 4 s a h He m os t f a m ngle, I G and his stihe rise of Ibiza’s reveals

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© belindabecket t.com

THE FOCUS hotels

doing the White Isle in style

N

owhere was in more danger of becoming a victim of its own success than the party island of Ibiza.

The epitome of Sixties boho chic became a synonym for Eighties excess that was more cheap thrill than chill, luring thousands of ‘trance tourists’ annually to Ibiza’s shores, including half a million lairy Brits. And the more their brazen behaviour was ‘uncovered’ by reality TV shows, the more discerning travellers were giving the island a swerve.

Thus it might have continued – but the authorities cottoned on. “The clubbing scene forms only a tiny part of what the island offers but it’s what defines us, internationally, and it has damaged our image.

We intend to change all that,” was fighting talk from Ibiza’s tourism chief, Josefa Mari, five seasons ago.

Today, Ibiza is still unashamedly a party place but change is already afoot. To encourage a more cultured and civilised tourism scene, the government has introduced a 6am nightclub curfew and requires all new hotels to be 5-star. Across the island, stylish rural ‘agroturismos’ and smart new spa hotels have been opening up to peddle a smoother brand of hedonism. Even in traditional ‘youth resorts’ like San Antonio and Playa d’en Bossa, a new generation of upmarket establishments are shaking up a cocktail of entertainment that’s just as intoxicating – but rather more sophisticated – than a shot glass of Sex on the Beach.

May’s unveiling of the Ushuaïa Tower – the talk of Ibiza this summer – is a perfect example. As the publicity blurb for The Ushuaïa Club’s new sister hotel states: ‘What makes The Tower different?

You have all the same privileges that a guest of The Club would have, while being just a few meters away from the action for a different type

VIP KIPS If summer in Ibiza sounds a little scary, you’re either over 30 or you’ve been watching too many reality TV shows. Hotels in the Mediterranean’s clubbing capital are increasingly catering to more sophisticated travellers: those who prefer their foam elegantly presented on a dinner plate, rather than squirted down their cleavage, as Belinda Beckett reports.

of Ushuaïa experience. The Tower is all about exclusivity and style – and voyeurism!’

Nowhere illustrates the gentle breeze of change wafting through the White Island more graphically than the rise, fall and rise again of Pikes Hotel.

This iconic establishment, set on the rural outskirts of ‘San An’, was the original agroturismo – a 15th century finca renovated by charismatic Aussie ‘boatnik’ Tony Pike, back in the 1970s.

One day, just as he was grouting the last bathroom tile, along came a location scout looking for a likely spot to shoot a pop video. The song was Club Tropicana. The performers were George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.

It wasn’t only Wham! who scored a hit. Pike’s became a Mecca for musicians and the celebrity jet set, reaching a high point in 1987 when it hosted the 41st birthday bash of Queen front man Freddie Mercury. Described as ‘the most incredible example of excess the Mediterranean island had ever seen’, 350 bottles of Moet & Chandon and a cake in the shape of Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia cathedral were served to 500 celebrity guests. Grace Jones, Bon Jovi, Boy George, Robert Plant, Naomi Campbell and

Spandau Ballet were there, along with some of the oldest swingers in town (Anthony Quinn and Tony Curtis).

But then it all went ‘Pete Tong’… (Cockney rhyming slang for ‘it all went wrong’, also referencing the eponymous DJ and a similarlynamed movie partly filmed at Pikes). The hotel became notorious for drug-fuelled orgies, lost its high-end clientele and, in 1998, Tony’s son Anthony was murdered while trying to prevent a scam takeover bid for the hotel by Miami fraudsters. His killer is now serving a life sentence.

Ten years after this tragedy, the hotel found new owners, and a new respect, as Ibiza Rocks House. Tony, who lives permanently in Room 25, is a sadder but wiser man. At the time of the sale, The Mail on Sunday wrote that he was “stooped and shrunken, his face looks like a weathered Easter Island statue… and when he walks he shuffles unsteadily, bowed by a life of excess.”

His story might so easily have been an analogy for where the island itself was headed. Fortunately, like Pikes, Ibiza has been reimagined.

So if you prefer to enjoy the vibe from the fringes of the foam party, we’ve singled out five VIP Kips where you can do precisely that.

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Hacienda Na Xamena, San Miquel

© belindabecket t.com

Where other hotels scream ‘party’, the Hacienda Na Xamena on Ibiza’s wild northern coast whispers seclusion.

But the views are something to shout about and, as the hotel is built into the sheer cliff face on six vertiginous levels, there are plenty of them.

Suspended 180 metres above the azure bay, the stage is set for the most photogenic sunsets. The triple-level Eden Restaurant affords front-row seats on this nightly spectacle which is ‘sold’ as part of the dining package, complete with timings: ‘July 9.15pm: Sunset with Aperitif & Dinner, €46.’ Alternatively, go for double bubble with a Champagne sundowner while immersed in the thalasso spa’s cascading pools, overhanging the bay. Guests say it’s like sitting on the edge of the world.

Ibiza’s original 5-star hotel, the Hacienda radiates discreet luxury and has been a favourite A-lister retreat since 1971. Surrounded by dense pine forests and protected natural parkland, streams, rocks and olive trees combine with traditional Ibicencan white architecture to create a relaxing connection with nature.

The best suites have freestanding indoor Jacuzzi baths, positioned in front of the terrace windows to soak up those views. The Eden Room has both indoor and outdoor Jacuzzis and your very own ‘hanging garden’.

Guests can pamper themselves at La Posidonia Spa, named after the protected seaweed that grows around Ibiza. There are three fresh-water swimming pools (one indoors), a gym, tennis court, four restaurants, a chill-out lounge decorated with Balinese Buddhas and Moroccan cushions, and a private amphitheatre for weddings.

While a little too peaceful and isolated for the ‘disco sunrise set’, there’s plenty going on: show cooking, fashion extravaganzas, cookery classes, boat excursions and, at night, live music and cool DJ sounds. After all, even ancient ’30-somethings’ have been known to dance until dawn!

STYLE: Exclusive and reclusive in a vertiginous clifftop setting CLIENTELE : Honeymooners, peaceniks and the stylish over-30s set

www.hotelhacienda-ibiza.com

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Ibiza’s hot news this season was the opening of the 8-storey Ushuaïa Tower, with its funky floral façade. This is the avant-garde extension to Ushuaïa’s beachfront party hotel, famous for its poolside raves and Hollywood Bowl stage, now renamed The Ushuaïa Club. If the latter’s for hard-core clubbers planning to get down and dirty, the Tower offers a more elitist and voyeuristic viewpoint. Guests can look down on the hoi polloi from the Xaloc Sky Lounge roof terrace bar; or from the best suites, while soaking in a Jacuzzi on their private terrace. This summer, they’ll enjoy a bird’s eye view of David Guetta, Avicii, Luciano, Sasha, Pete Tong, Loco Dice, Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso… and the list goes on.

The 181 rooms and suites mix futuristic decor with high-tech toys: LED lighting you can change with your mood, a menu of plug-in aromatherapy oils, double rainforest showers and what the hotel describes as ‘a very suggestive erotic kit’ (including condoms, lubricant and blindfold). For an ultra-VIP kip, check out the Fashion Victim Suite with its circular, gold-canopied bed, ceiling mirrors and shower in the centre of the room; the Anything Can Happen Suite (50-inch flat screen TV plus pillow and sheet menu) or the top-floor I’m On Top of the World suite (two bathrooms, dressing room, butler service and many other privileges).

An infinity pool with oyster bar, cocktails and entertainment, a wellness centre and the new Montauk Steakhouse run by Executive Chef Richard Turner of La Gavroche fame are other Tower wow factors. Plus guests can enjoy all the amenities at the Club – pools, sun loungers, the Minami Japanese restaurant and, for the socially networked, RFID wristbands synced to their Facebook profile. Simply swipe across a sensor to share the latest gossip.

Ushuaïa Tower, Playa d’en Bossa Style: Prestige pampering for privileged voyeurs in a beachfront setting Clientele: Fashionistas and trendsetters. Socialite sisters Paris and Nicky Hilton love The Club. www.ushuaiabeachhotel.com/en/thetower

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Ibiza Rocks House, San Antonio

This legendary Ibiza institution was reborn in 2011 as a luxury boutique hotel that’s part of – and yet apart from – the hugely successful Ibiza Rocks lifestyle brand. If its sister establishment, the Ibiza Rocks Hotel, is all about wild poolside music fests, ‘The House’ offers a more chilled retreat from the beat on the rural outskirts of San An. Although lively times can be expected as most of the bands and DJs headlining the Ibiza Rocks gigs stay here. They also host their after-parties in the old Marrakech Suite of Freddie Mercury fame, now transformed into a disco-bar that’s open 24/7.

The iconic swimming pool immortalised by Wham! remains unchanged but the 26 differently-themed rooms and suites have been given an extreme makeover, complete with King-sized beds, CD/DVD players and eclectic soft furnishings. Room 26 with its circular door looks like a great home-from-

home for Hobbits! Room 39 is the hotel restaurant, named in honour of Club Tropicana being the 39th best-selling single of 1983. Old celebrity snaps, vintage record players and bubblegum-pink floodlit tennis courts are other nods to the hotel’s flamboyant past.

Despite the chilled vibe, you can still let your hair down. The Pikes VIP Card opens doors to the best clubs on the island, or there’s Wednesday nights at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel. This summer, watch out for Tinie Tempah, Franz Ferdinand and Dizzee Rascal, among many other big names. And if you’re feeling fragile next day, Pikes has years of experience in curing hangovers and the Bloody Mary gazpacho must be tried! Or, if you can’t face more alcohol, ‘The Rockovery’ team of wellness therapists have a raft of healing rituals to put you back together again!

STYLE: Rock star chic with a twist of eccentricity CLIENTELE: Old rockers, happening musicians and DJs. Kylie Minogue and Julio Iglesias are fans.

For further details (and some entertaining reminiscences from Tony himself) see www.ibizarocks.com/house

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STYLE: Rural idyll in a charming farmhouse setting CLIENTELE: Stressed-out execs, couples, families and the back-to-nature set www.cancurreu.com

Agroturismo Can Curreu, San Carlos This 200-year-old restored Ibicenco farmhouse surrounded by manicured gardens wafting aromas of pine, rose, fig and lavender will quickly transport you to a spiritual, Zen-like state.

The crows of the resident cockerels begin your lazy day. Contemplate the forested hillside and tune into birdsong as you soak up the sun from your private terrace. By its own admission, Can Curreu is ‘far more than an exclusive residence. It is a place with a soul’.

Possibly the classiest agroturismo on the island, more temporal pleasures include a menu based on ‘traditional exceptional cuisine’ using home-grown produce from the kitchen garden, and a wellstocked wine cellar.

The 17 cottage-style rooms and suites, scattered among orchards and olive groves, are individually furnished in elegant-rustic style with low-beamed ceilings, terracotta tiles and crisp white linens. The suites have the added luxury of a Jacuzzi, living room and open fireplace.

Stay on site to enjoy the swimming pool, spa, gym and solarium; wander over to the nearby Las Dalias hippy market; go for a spin in the hotel’s power boat; or saddle up a pony and head for the hills. Although it feels like the middle of nowhere, there’s a beach within 10 minutes drive from Can Curreu and Ibiza Town is just 30 minutes away by car.

Children are welcome in this haven of peace (although it probably helps if they’re well-behaved) and babysitting can be arranged.

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For gracious living and impeccable service away from the clubbing crowd, this colonial mansion will do nicely. Perched high up in the 16th century old quarter, a UNESCO World Heritage site, the hotel is furnished in classic period style with chandeliers, sculptures and many of the owners’ precious antiques, so leave the kids at home. There’s stacks of renaissance history right on the doorstep, along with bijou restaurants, bars, art galleries and designer boutiques to explore.

The suites and superior rooms have rooftop and harbour views from their Juliet balconies while the exquisite bathrooms showcase seven types of marble, green onyx and semi-precious stones, in keeping with the early-20th-century style of this former family home. Whirlpool tubs, Loewe toiletries, fluffy bathrobes, pillow menus and plasma TVs are other perks. For the ultimate VIP kip, it doesn’t get much better than the Grand Suite with its formal lounge, two bathrooms with sauna and gym and 74 m2 terrace with outdoor Jacuzzi.

The hotel’s Restaurant Es Mirador, specialising in creative Ibicenco cuisine, is a mix of modernism and gentility, complete with Chesterfield-style sofas and an art deco cocktail bar. Breakfast and dinner can also be enjoyed in the cobbled courtyard.

Splash out and charter the hotel’s private yacht (or hop on the ferry) to nearby Formentera. The hotel pool is ‘bijou’ but with trendy Las Salinas beach at the bottom of the hill, you’ll only be complaining on the walk back up. e

Mirador de Dalt Vila, Ibiza Town STYLE: Old world colonial charm within heritage city walls CLIENTELE: Serial sophisticates and romantic couples content to make their own party www.hotelmiradoribiza.com/en

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THE FOCUS people

Words Michel Cruz Photography Johnny Gates Marbella-Eye Online Magazine

West End Musicals and 3 Tenors touring Costa del Sol

with International Tenor Stephen Lloyd-Morgan Lovers of music on this coast are fortunate to have a gifted Welsh tenor among them.

Born into the rich vocal tradition of the Valleys, Stephen Lloyd-Morgan has been living and working in Marbella for some time now, dividing his time between his professional career and the passion for music that sees him perform both locally and abroad. creating an ensemble of some of the very best musical talent in this region. Stephen is at the heart of the two fantastic new shows they have produced, guiding and nurturing the younger stars as they blend together to produce two great new productions: West End Musicals in Concert and Encore! – The 3 Tenors.

West End Musicals in Concert

H

is is a talent that is grounded in his early years in Wales and which has progressed and developed through the years. “My first experiences performing in the working men’s clubs of the Valleys taught me to engage the public, while I learned a lot about projecting your energy and enthusiasm from the West End musicals in which I appeared,” says Stephen.

Since then his soulful performances have been further enhanced by the technique and precision required to perform the light classical music for which he is perhaps best known on this coast: “I love the diversity of the two main different genres of music I sing and the challenge of mastering them.”

Stephen is a seasoned Musical Theatre performer who studied at The Mountview Academy of Performing Arts in London as well as Opera at the Welsh College of Music and Drama.

Now this versatile performer with the golden voice has brought together other talented singers,

West End Musicals, which has been playing to packed houses in venues such as Tikitano, La Sala, Valparaiso and several others, celebrates the fun, energy and emotion of the West End as it brings us a selection of the best songs and moments from the productions we love. Included are highlights from Jesus Christ Superstar, Hair, Evita, Miss Saigon, Wicked, Oliver, The Lion King, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Chicago and Les Misérables, to which the second half of the show is dedicated.

Accompanying the tenor voice of Stephen himself are the talented performers Adele Lee Peters, Paul Anthony and Gemma Lloyd, who bring their own talent and professional experience to the show. The ladies certainly look the part thanks to stunning evening dresses by Patricia Nahmad. “It’s a true delight to be performing with this team,” says Stephen. “Adele has a great deal of experience as a performer both here and in the UK, and the fact that she can cover the vocal range from Peggy Lee and Shirley Bassey to Mariah Carey, Elaine Paige and Barbra Streisand says enough about her voice and versatility.”

She is accompanied by Gemma Lloyd, the other

female vocalist in the show, whose experience as a singer, dancer and actor belies her youth. “I love the musicals and the opportunity this show provides to perform them. It’s great fun and also a good learning experience,” says the young artist with a promising career ahead of her. The other young performer in this group is Paul Anthony, who also joins Stephen in Encore! – The 3 Tenors. It is a measure of his range that he is becoming equally adept at both musical styles: “Although I come from the musicals I am enjoying the new world that is opening up with classical music too.”

Encore! – The 3 Tenors This wonderful ode to the beauty of the human voice and how it is harnessed so wonderfully in classic masterpieces such as La Donna Mobile, Caruso, Besame Mucho, Somewhere, Granada and Brindisi runs parallel to West End Musicals. The rich voice of Stephen Lloyd-Morgan is given full reign here, flanked by the slightly lighter timbre of Paul Anthony and the lyrical tenor of Raúl D’Abreu, a classically trained singer from Málaga.

“Raúl is a real find,” says Stephen. “His voice compliments ours beautifully and his technical skill is exemplary. He adds a true Latin note to the Spanish and Italian songs in our repertoire, and he feels the music well. Additionally, I get the impression the ladies don’t mind him at all.” Indeed, Nessun Dorma never fails to give you goose bumps, and the audience’s response has been enthusiastic for both shows, so if you enjoy the great atmosphere of the musicals or the pure beauty of the classical genre then have a look at the programme and see if there is a date and venue to your liking. And if you can’t decide between the two shows, why not go to both!

g Information www.slmlive.com www.westendmusicalsinconcert.com www.encoretenors

LATEST - Stephen with Encore!

The 3 Tenors and West End Musicals in Concert have been invited to stage a show at this year’s Starlite Festival in Marbella on 30th July at 10pm.

The show Music of the Night will see the very best of both shows and entrance is free of charge

www.starlitefestival.com

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At the time of going to press, the organisers were promising one or two more international acts. Add to that the talented local musicians who will again feature… I’ve already got my VIP ticket – have you?

Tickets on sale now at Vijay & Music Corner. For the latest: gibraltarmusicfestival.com

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THE FOCUS sports

The NatWest T

he Island Games began life on the Isle of Man in 1985. Originally named the InterIsland Games, and only ever intended to be a one-time event as part of the island’s International Year of Sport, the games were created in the spirit of friendly competition.

Invitations were sent to fellow small islands across the world, giving sportsmen and women from similar-sized communities and of equal sporting standards the opportunity to take part in a fun, smaller-scale, international event.

The response was overwhelming. While the organisers hoped to hear back from eight or nine other nations, 15 islands accepted.

From Scandinavia to the South Atlantic, some 600 islanders arrived, either to take part in or officiate the seven sports which were being staged across the week of the Games.

The welcome extended to them by Sir Nigel Cecil, Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, set the tone for the spirit of the Games: “The concept of holding these Island Games within our Year of Sport, and bringing us all together, is a splendid one. I am sure they will be a great success and be conducted in a very real spirit of enjoyment, friendship and good sportsmanship. At the same time we will learn much about the history, traditions and customs of each other’s island homes. You will all be able to share that mutual appreciation and understanding of island life that draws all islanders together in a bond of very special friendship. I congratulate everybody involved in making these Games possible. I hope you will all have a very happy time while in our midst and I wish all the competitors every success in their endeavours.”

It was an exciting week and everything the organisers had hoped it would be. It was a fair contest of sporting skill, a cultural and social exchange and was such a success, that the decision was made on the spot that the Games would thereon be repeated every two years. At the closing ceremony of the inaugural Isle of Man Games, the message ‘See you in Guernsey in ‘87!’ was flashed across the big screen to a fantastic reception at the finish.

From these humble beginnings, the NatWest Island Games (to give the event its official title since NatWest became its sponsor in 1999) is now one of the largest international multi-sport meetings in the world, behind the

ISLAND GAMES Hot on the heels of Gibraltar’s acceptance into UEFA, and all the car horns, crowds and concerts it brought with it by way of well-deserved celebration, it’s now time for the territory to step up to the challenge of the XV Island Games, hosted this year in Bermuda from 13 to 19 July.

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© Fanny Schertzer

Natwest Island Games 2009, Half Marathon, Women’s Team

© Rae Slater

from Gibraltar to Bermuda

WORDS AMY WILLIAMS PHOTOGRAPHY JON SEGUI AND COURTESY OF THE NATWEST ISLAND GAMES

Natwest Island Games 2009, High Jump

Olympics and the Commonwealth Games. Twenty four islands currently take part, and the competitor count at the last event in 2011 was in the region of 2,500 sportsmen and women.

Gibraltar joined the event in 1987, missing out on the inaugural Isle of Man Games but making it to the second in Guernsey, and attending every event since, even hosting the 1995 ‘Sunshine’ Games.

Gibraltar, being a peninsula rather than an island, is considered by some to be a curious inclusion in the ‘Island’ Games. Its admittance directly contravenes the constitution of the International Island Games Association (IIGA) which states in point one of the application criteria that: ‘The Applicant Island must be surrounded by sea water’. It was a point addressed by the Hon. Marl Montegriffo, Minister for Sport, on the occasion of Gibraltar’s 1995 Games, summing it up: “Gibraltar is not an island but, in 1985, we were accepted as a member of these Games in view of the fact that for the previous 19 years our border with the neighbouring country was closed, and hence we were effectively living in an ‘island’.”

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Impressed that anyone can train to such a high level in three entirely different sports, I asked Chris how he came to be a triathlete. “I used to be a rugby player,” he said, “and that involved a lot of fitness, so I was already quite into running and swimming. In 2000, a friend and I decided to enter the La Linea Triathlon, and I was hooked from the finish line.”

By October 2000, with the help of other likeminded local triathletes and the Gibraltar Sports and Leisure Authority, Chris established the Gibraltar Triathlon Association, and in 2001, the Association entered a team in the Isle of Man Island Games. It was the first time the triathlon had been an event at the Games and, as such, was held on the first day, drawing quite a crowd, including the visiting Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones.

Enthusiastic about the triathlon, and wanting to encourage as many people to try it as possible, the Gibraltar Triathlon Association set up the Gibraltar Novice Triathlon in 2001.

In that first year, they recruited 25 people.

Today that number has reached 150. “The emphasis really is on ‘novice’,” Chris insists, “there are absolutely no professionals allowed.” And to make it even more attractive, he says you can also take part as a relay team, therefore if you’re not comfortable with all three sports, enter with two other people and just take one each. “There are corporate teams, and kids events too” Chris adds.

The Gibraltar Triathlon Association has now been running for 12 years, and Chris is pleased to report that the sport has grown so much in popularity locally that he will be taking the maximum number of triathletes with him to Bermuda, ten in total. Qualifying criteria for men and women were introduced a year ago, and the team places are quite simply awarded to those with the fastest times.

There have been years where triathlon has not featured at the Games, and this is because of the discretion of the hosting island

© Fanny Schertzer

And so it is, that at the beginning of July, 75 of Gibraltar’s top sportsmen and women will be boarding the flight to Bermuda in the North Atlantic, with medals in mind. The nine sports in which Gibraltar will be taking part are Athletics, Badminton, Sailing, Clay Shooting, Target Shooting, Squash, Swimming, Tennis and Triathlon.

Turning our attention towards one sport in particular, we meet up with Chris Walker, Gibraltar’s leading triathlete and one of Gibraltar’s ten-strong triathlon team, sponsored by Pure IP. In the midst of a training schedule which sees him cycle 30-40km before work, swim 3km over lunch, and run for 8km of an evening during the week, adding a 20km run on Saturday and a 130km cycle on Sunday, Chris is looking forward to the Games.

“The team is targeting bronze”, he tells me, pointing out that medals are awarded for both individual triathletes and for the team, “but on a good day, if everyone reaches their potential, we could be looking at silver or even gold.” In this, and most of the other sports it seems, Jersey is the team to beat. They are unbeaten in the Island Games team triathlons to date, and their recruitment of the coach who trained the Brownlee brothers to triathlon gold and bronze at the London 2012 Olympics, suggests they’re taking this one seriously too. But Chris has participated in enough triathlons (including every one that the Island Games has ever staged) to know that so much depends on the day. “Everyone has good and bad days. Gibraltar has a strong triathlon team and if any one of Jersey’s team is having a bad day, it could go our way.”

“What Gibraltar could do with, is a professional athlete to push the bar up; a role model who can inspire people” which is charged with picking 14 sports from an approved list of 18. This year in Bermuda, however, the triathlon will be one of the largest single events. Comparing it to other sports, Chris tells me that cycling, swimming and athletics are also very competitive. “Triathlon, cycling and swimming draw serious professional competitors who are ranked in the top ten in the world, take for example the cyclist Mark Cavendish from the Isle of Man, the swimmer Pal Joensen from the Faroe Islands and triathlete Tyler Butterfield from Bermuda who have all competed in the Olympics and also at the NatWest Island Games”, he says.

“What Gibraltar could do with,” Chris continues, “is a professional athlete to push the bar up; a role model who can inspire people. The Isle of Man has Mark Cavendish as mentioned, and Guernsey has a number of professional cyclists and athletes, Lee Merrien among them.” Merrien, it turns out, will not actually be attending this year’s Island Games, largely due to a hip injury which, if exacerbated, could impact his bid for a place at this year’s World Championships, but Guernsey’s team manager Steve Allaway remains confident that despite this, Guernsey will still achieve some good results, although concedes that they may not be top of the medal table.

Although the Island Games cultivates quite serious competition, Chris explains the otherwise incredibly encouraging nature of most triathlons. “It’s a great atmosphere,” he says, “Everyone runs their own race. There’s a real sense of support among participants.”

So, how would anyone wanting to get into triathlon go about it?, I ask. Chris responds: “Do the NatWest Gibraltar Novice Triathlon.

It’s a very gentle introduction to the sport. It’s a 300m swim, a 10km cycle (on the closed

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© Rae Slater

Hamilton, Bermuda

Natwest Island Games 2009, Tennis.

runway, so perfectly safe from collisions with cars) and 2.5km run. Becoming a triathlete is all about practising each sport, and for most people, concentrating on the weakest one.” I ask whether it’s something you really ought to be starting from an early age but this doesn’t appear to be a big issue. “People tend to take up triathlon in their 30s” Chris says. “In their 20s, they’re building careers, starting families, or concentrating on excelling in just one sport. For many people, it’s also a focal point to change their life, be it weight loss, or recovery after illness, which tend to be issues you face at an older age. And also, there’s the cost: it’s an expensive hobby. Aside from all the usual sports gear, you have costly extras such as the wetsuit and the bike and the kit that comes with that.”

I ask how Chris feels about the event being held in Bermuda this year, the first time the Island Games has ever been hosted outside Europe. “It’ll make it interesting” he says. “The heat will be fine for the Gibraltarian athletes, but some of the northern hemisphere teams might

struggle.” I wonder if this could possibly be the edge over Jersey that Gibraltar needs?

“Unlikely” says Chris, “For the Rhodes Games, Jersey had its teams training in heat chambers!”

Another consequence of holding the Games in Bermuda is the cost of travel. Very few of the islands, for example, have been able to enter the events which require larger teams, which has resulted in just four islands competing in the men’s football, three in the women’s, and three in the men’s basketball. Bermuda, who send both individuals and teams to Europe every two years, have expressed a little disappointment that the team sports will be so limited but, in the spirit of the Games, they simply say they are looking forward to welcoming those who are able to come.

“From our beautiful scenery to our lovely people, we will do all we can to give you the best Games ever”, confirms Wayne Scott, Bermuda’s Minister of Community and Cultural Affairs. “Bermuda is very honoured to be hosting the Games and we are looking forward to a week of intense competition, and years of benefit once the Games are over.”

The Gibraltar team will all be away for the full ten days of the Island Games, as they all stay on the island to support one another.

Chris is no stranger to travelling for his sport though, and acknowledges the tolerance of his wife, somewhat of a ‘triathlon widow’, and their four children, from whom he gets huge support.

And it is with the support and hopes of all Gibraltar that Chris, the triathlon team, and every other representative travelling to Bermuda leaves home. We wish them the very best, we want them to bring back medals, and hope their ‘day’ is just that little bit better than Jersey’s. g For more information on triathlon in Gibraltar,

join the Hercules Triathlon Club on Facebook

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THE FOCUS

If you thought Gibraltar was Spain’s closest connection to Britain, you’ve never ridden ‘Mr Henderson’s Railway’ – a scenic line in Andalucía that’s 100 per cent Victorian English!

TV train buff Michael Portillo was so smitten by its glittering past – linked to WW2 spies, Hollywood stars and a young Winston Churchill – he’s featuring it in his next series of Great Continental Railway Journeys. Today you can ride the line on air-conditioned trains upriver to Ronda for rocky mountain highs or hop off for lunch at quaint trackside restaurants en route. But perhaps not tomorrow… Spain has plans to blow the whistle on this delightful connection to British history.

A

n exotically-turbaned gypsy couple selling oranges in the foreground of a swanky ocean-front hotel decorate a hand-drawn poster announcing ‘The New Winter Resort’. Polo, hunting, cricket, sea bathing, boating and an English resident doctor are among its attractions.

The poster has been shrunk to fit the pages of an old, pocket-sized railway timetable advertising ‘Trains departing daily with direct

The Bobadilla steam engine once travelled Mr Henderson’s Railway

connections to and from Biarritz, Paris and The Riviera’, and ‘commodious saloon steamers to meet passengers arriving by liner from New York’.

Where was this amazing new resort?

Cannes, perhaps, or San Tropez? The unmistakeable silhouette of Gibraltar hovering in the background of the poster is a giveaway but would you ever have guessed Algeciras – the industrial port city at the tip of Spain that’s dismissed by most guidebooks as charmless?

Once upon a time before Algeciras had a

port, this Cinderella city was beautiful and, yes, she did go to the ball!

During the first half of the 20th century royalty, artists, writers and heads of state stayed at the ‘poster hotel’, the Reina Cristina, enjoying hot fireside baths poured from copper urns by a parade of chambermaids. Next time you’re passing this Edwardian grand dame, check out the gold plaques flanking reception; they bear the signatures of Cole Porter, Tyrone Power, Franklin D. Roosevelt, the poet Lorca, King Alfonso VIII of Spain, Queen Elisabeth of

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s ’ n o s r e d n e H r M

BECKETT WORDS BELINDA CUSSEN D VI DA PHOTOGRAPHY © MBARD LO NY TO AND COURTESY OF

Y A W L I A R Gibraltar

&

the

n o i t c e Conn

Captain Louis Lom

Passing the Cat’s

bard

Cave then The New Winter Re

Belgium, Ava Gardner, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and many more.

Wealthy Europeans colonised fincas on the headland, building summer mansions in the fashionable Queen Anne style, their English pitched roofs and chimney stacks striking an incongruous architectural note beside the whitewashed Spanish cottages of this poor Andalusian town.

And all thanks to a group of visionary British and Gibraltarian businessmen who saw, in the 1880s, that Algeciras was a very attractive place indeed to build a railway.

sor t

The ‘age of the train’ had arrived in the rest of Spain and Europe but still bypassed the wild, rural corner of Andalucía known as the Campo de Gibraltar. Until the late 19th century this was dangerous bandit country! Peasant farmers took their lives in their hands when taking their produce to market; mule tracks, unfit for carriages, were the only roads; the nearest staging post on the journey north was a hard day’s ride on horseback.

Of more concern to the British government was that Gibraltar, their strategic Mediterranean military base, was completely cut off from the

civilised world by land. A Colonel Sayer, garrisoned on The Rock in the 1860s, wrote of ‘small and crowded dwellings, ill-ventilated, badly drained and crammed with 15,000 human beings confined within a space covering a square mile.’

To the fine lady wives of garrison officers, The Rock must have seemed like a prison!

A rail link was sorely needed but, then as now, Gibraltar was a ‘delicate subject’. A cunning plan was required.

Several schemes had already been mooted – Cádiz, Ronda and Jerez all wanted a rail link

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Lord Faringdon (left) and his second cousin, Lord Marlesford, with Belinda and the poet Rilke at the Reina Victoria Hotel

– but none proved viable until French railway engineer Charles Lamiable drew up plans for a line from Bobadilla to Ronda, later extended to Algeciras. Bobadilla was connected, via Madrid, to Paris and the rest of Europe. But the cost and scale of building the 177km line was enormous because of the mountainous terrain surrounding the southern approach to Ronda.

The man who brought this plan to fruition was not the wealthy British financier after which Mr Henderson’s Railway is named but an unsung Gibraltarian merchant ship owner of French descent called Captain Louis Lombard.

Captain Lombard had met Alexander Henderson on his sea voyages to South America and knew he was the man for the job. Henderson had made his fortune financing railroads in South America and Africa, together with the Scottish engineer John Morrison. To such a team, the Algeciras railroad would be a piece of cake.

The Reina Victoria Hotel now

DRIVE THE LINE Should the final whistle blow on Mr Henderson’s Railway, you can still visit its attractions by car.

You’ll also need wheels – or a good pair of legs – to reach Pileta Cave on Benaoján’s outskirts, the closest you’ll get to prehistoric cave paintings in Spain because tours are decidedly informal (no roped-off areas or ‘do not touch’ signs). It’s a cool half-mile walk through limestone galleries slippery with bat droppings. cuevadelapileta.org The more beautiful Cueva del Gato nearby, passed by the train, is so-called because the fissures in the rock resemble the face of a cat. From an observation platform at the entrance you can watch the subterranean river cascading from the moggy’s mouth into a natural pool that invites you to take the plunge for a refreshing summer splash. Walking the cave to Montejaque is for skilled potholers only as number of people have died after becoming trapped inside by the rising river.

As a wealthy Gibraltarian businessman wise to the ways of Spain, Lombard undoubtedly knew a rail link with The Rock would never be approved.

But what if the ‘missing link’ could be provided by ships? He set off for London and convinced Henderson to part with the lion’s share of the capital (some 45 million pesetas).

Interestingly, this part of the story will be news to Mr Henderson’s great grandson, Lord Faringdon of Oxfordshire, who flew to Spain with 21 members of his family earlier this year to ride their ancestral railway for the first time. Lord Faringdon could shed little light on the railroad.

“I come from a family of shredders,” he told me apologetically. “When my great grandfather died, all he left in the middle drawer of his desk was his passport and title deeds.”

Fortunately, Captain Lombard’s descendants kept every document in triplicate! They are currently in the safe-keeping of his great nephew Tony Lombard, former Mayor of Gibraltar, who has spent many years researching his family history.

He says: “Not only did my great uncle have the vision but also the gravitas to convince these businessmen to deposit a princely sum that would be worth anywhere between £163m and £2.3 billion today, depending on calculations.

In modern parlance, Captain Lombard not only talked the talk but walked the walk.”

The Algeciras (Gibraltar) Railway Company was duly set up, headquartered in Algeciras, with John Morrison as general manager reporting to a committee of businessmen in London. Captain Lombard became a shareholder and controlled construction from Algeciras. The first section of track was laid on 1st September 1888.

‘When it is finished it will link Gibraltar to

The Reina Cristina

Madrid, the French border and the rest of Europe, also connecting British, Americans and Europeans with Gibraltar and places of interest like Cordoba, Granada, Seville,” wrote the then British Consul in Málaga, Alexander Finn, ‘also transporting wine, olive oil, cork, livestock, pigs, fruit and minerals which can be transported by ship to Gibraltar and from there all over the world, turning Gibraltar into a major port.’

It was an immense undertaking. The line rises from sea level to an altitude of some 750 metres, following the Guadiaro River through mountain ranges and across ravines via 16 tunnels and 20 bridges. Most stations had to be located in the valley, some distance from the steep hilltop villages they served.

More than a century later, the scenery as described in the original railway timetable is littlechanged: the ‘corkwoods whose sunny glades continually remind one of the pleasant woodlands of Old England’ are still there, although viewed in faster forward on modern electric trains. Olive and orange groves, sunflower fields, white villages, nesting storks, lonely goatherds and majestic mountain peaks circled by eagles and vultures flash past the carriage windows in a continuous collage.

The industrial revolution having made little impact in Spain, all material and equipment for the railroad had to be imported from England: the track, signals and rolling stock; the big black steam locomotives built by Beyer, Peacock & Co.

Hotel, 1904

The New Winter Re

sor t Rocky mountain highs

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Chocolate box sta

tion then

WINE & DINE ON THE LINE

For foodies with a one-track mind, Mr Henderson’s Railway is just the ticket!

Chocolate box station now

A STATION BUFFET WITH A DIFFERENCE! of Manchester; the bench seats and clocks gracing the pretty wayside stations with their fringed wooden canopies, modelled on British stations in India; even the paper, ink and pens!

Many of these curiosities can still be seen at the old Algeciras railway station, now HQ for Los Amigos del Ferrocarril de Algeciras, where President José Roballo runs an informal museum. “It’s a home from home as my grandfather used to live here, when he was Chief Inspector of the railway,” says José, proudly showing me his spoils: the old company safe, the plaque from the locomotives’ turntable, even an aged item of lost luggage!

On November 27, 1892, the final section of track was laid and all 22 stations were open for business – but that’s not the end of the story.

The railway company had won La Linea Town Hall’s support for a branch line from San Roque, giving the British their desired Gibraltar link. But Spain’s War Ministry was having none of it and the following decree was published: ‘Spain will never consent to any line that would connect the enemy territory of Gibraltar with the Spanish rail network.’

Captain Lombard’s contingency plan came into play. A wooden passenger pier was built in Algeciras (credited on Wikipedia as being the origin of the vast port today – another badge of honour for Captain Lombard’s hat). The company’s first steamship, Elvira, made the inaugural crossing in 1894. Extra track was laid from the wharf to the main station which was built some distance away, Spain having refused permission to locate it on the waterfront within range of Gibraltar’s cannons! The ferry service was timed to precisely coincide with trains departing directly from the wharf, creating one smooth connection between Gibraltar and Spain.

The British had achieved their objective. In 1901, the Ronda newspaper El Teléfono ran a leader article stating that the railway had been: ‘purely and simply an extension of Gibraltar, constructed on behalf of the British government to augment Gibraltar’s defensive powers in the

Strait and convert it into a modern stronghold, using marbles and jaspers mined from Andalusian quarries’.

Now peasant farmers could safely take their livestock and produce to market; and garrison officers’ wives could escape the claustrophobic atmosphere of The Rock for an adventure in the Spanish countryside – craning their necks for a glimpse of those reckless bandits through the carriage windows, no doubt! It was a relatively cheap thrill for the wealthy. A 1st class return ticket from Gibraltar to Ronda cost 17.10 pesetas.

The local Calpe Hunt used the train to transport their horses, and the sporty set to visit the Duke of Medina’s hunting lodge in Castellar.

Smugglers used it too, hurling their contraband goods through the slow-moving train’s carriage windows to contacts waiting in the mountains with pack mules.

Alexander Henderson was created a baron by Edward VII of England. Both he and his engineer, John Morrison, have streets in Algeciras named after them.

All set for lunch at Molino del Santo

If British railway buffets remind you of greasy chips and luke-warm tea, La Estación will change that train of thought.

This charming country station, which could have been plucked from the pages of a Thomas the Tank Engine book, does double duty as a gourmet restaurant!

Leased from Renfe by self-taught chef Nieves Dominguez, the creative Mediterranean menu includes partridge paté, Iberian pork fillet with grenadinecaramelised onions and a fresh orange mousse that’s a culinary celebration of Spain’s succulent national fruit.

Hop on the 12.01 train from San Roque station, alight at San Pablo half an hour later and step off the platform straight to your table! There’s time for a leisurely trackside lunch in the leafy garden, or around a crackling log fire in winter, before your carriage arrives at 17.20.

One of the line’s original Victorian railway stations, you can still admire the old railway bell and the stationmaster’s smart red and blue uniform, hung decoratively on the wall.

During July and August the restaurant switches to evening dining so take the car as, alas, there’s no late train connection. www.laestacion.sanpablodebuceite.com San Pablo has another claim to fame as the scene of Che Guevara’s ‘execution’. The 2008 Stephen Soderbergh biopic, Che, was filmed here, starring Benicio del Toro and many of the locals!

ALMUERZO AT THE MOLINO

If a leisurely lunch in the country is your idea of heaven, a table awaits beneath the weeping willows at the Molino del Santo, five minutes walk from Benaoján station.

The British owners have spent 26 years polishing this charming boutique hotel’s very smart act and the daily concerts of birdsong and ‘water music’ from the old mill stream are free of charge!

There’s a three-course Menu of the Month (€22) and à la carte but, as you’re not driving, why not splurge on a wine pairing menu? The five (or eight) courses are the perfect excuse to linger in this flower-scented Arcadia and by the time you’re on your fourth (and fourth glass) life will feel very good indeed!

If catching the train home seems too much trouble, stay the night and burn off those guilty calories next day on Mr Henderson’s Walk! www.molinodelsanto.com

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For Captain Lombard there were no such honours. His only memorial is his mausoleum in Algeciras cemetery and the crumbling vestiges of El Recreo, his sumptuous villa which started a trend among Gibraltarians in Algeciras for stylish colonial homes built to British design, some still in occupancy today. The Larios family (of gin fame) continue to live on their elegant estate at Monte de la Torre where the beautiful main house is available for summer lets.

www.montedelatorre.com Captain Lombard’s epitaph rests with Tony Lombard: “For too long my 3rd great-uncle has been denied recognition for the vital role he played.

Without his efforts, the railway might never have existed. In justification to him, it should also bear his name and henceforth be known as the HendersonMayoralt y tar ral Lombard Railway.”

Gib his g rin Tony Lombard du The company went on to establish The Iberian and Mediterranean Hotels Company and the magnificent Hotel Reina Cristina, named after Spain’s Queen Regent, opened in 1901. Designed by British architects, set in expansive manicured gardens and boasting 100 sumptuous bedrooms with fireplaces, the Saturday night balls on the sprung dance floor were popular with all. The hotel promised to refund the room rate for any day it rained between May and September.

A Spanish newspaper reported: ‘The compartments of the train are decorated with posters extolling the virtues of a new hotel – an English hotel, of course.’

Five years later an equally magnificent sister hotel,

the Reina Victoria, opened in Ronda, where the fresh mountain air was recommended for TB sufferers. Ernest Hemingway and the Austrian poet Reiner Rilke were regular guests. Both hotels welcome tourists today.

In 1906 the Reina Cristina hosted the 3-month Algeciras Conference, when delegates representing eight world powers met to discuss the future of Morocco around the mahogany boardroom table. It was covered by a young journalist called Winston Churchill. The Spanish delegation were guests of Captain Lombard at El Recreo.

That’s how a quirky scenic railway in Spain came to be created by the British – a strategic link reconnecting Gibraltar with the modern world. And so it remains. In a 2009 article on British-built railways The Daily Mail reported: ‘The longest possible train rail journey without leaving the rails today is an astonishing 10,600 miles, and runs between Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City and Algeciras’.

The railway and its ships were sold to Andalucía in 1913. The Reina Cristina, destroyed by a fire in 1928, was rebuilt to similar design with an extra storey. During WW2, German and Italian spies photographed shipping movements in the Strait from the bedrooms, using the bathrooms as dark rooms.

During the Franco era, Algeciras was transformed by major industrial development. Soon the sprawling port had obliterated the wonderful sea views from the Reina Cristina’s windows and smoke belching from factory chimneys stained the sky.

The clock had struck midnight for the Cinderella city and Prince Charming and his court had moved on…

This year, the death knell of the railroad itself has been sounded. Spain has published a list of 48 routes that may be axed because they are no longer paying their way. The Algeciras to Ronda line is among them. For the many trackside restaurants, boutique hotels and small businesses struggling in La Crisis who rely on the railway for their livelihoods, the loss of this financial lifeline may be the final blow.

WALK THE LINE Follow in the footsteps of David Cameron who took Mr Henderson’s Railway Walk before he became Prime Minister. It’s a two-to-three hour hike but he lived to tell the tale.

The well-signposted route between Benaoján and Jimera de Líbar stations follows the single-track railway along the river through the Guadiaro valley, beneath the sheer limestone mountains of the Serranía de Ronda. You won’t be alone, with eagles, griffon vultures, goats, exotic butterflies and black foot pigs for company.

You’ll be hailed by many other walkers, too, in a variety of languages!

Train times allow you to do this walk early in the morning, with plenty of time for lunch. Restaurant Quercus, a converted railway shed in the sidings at Jimera de Líbar, specialises in barbecued meat and game and fresh vegetables harvested from the Spanish owners’ kitchen garden. Tel: 952 180 041. Or try a pint of super-strong Belgianstyle beer, home-brewed by Englishman Paul Darwent at Bar Allioli, across the track from Quercus. baraliolli.com You can also do this walk in reverse order, finishing up at Molino del Santo.

Alternatively, the first gourmet walking holiday based around the railroad sets off on October 15. Escorted by Toma Tours, the 5-night trip includes overnights at the original railway hotels in Algeciras and Ronda, and at boutique hotels in white villages en route. The company also organises escorted one-day rail tours to Ronda. www.tomatours.com

The hilltop pueblo of Jimena de la Frontera is some way from the station

TRAIN SPOTTING Trains call twice daily at most stations between Algeciras and Ronda (journey time, approx. 1hr 45mins), and some continue to Granada – another great day out. Check out the stations on Google Maps to plan your itinerary to many other restaurants and beauty spots not included here. For train times see renfe.com Algeciras, San Roque/La Linea, (Almoraima*), Jimena de la Frontera, (San Pablo*), Gaucín, Cortes de la Frontera, Jimera de Libar, Beanaoján/Montejaque, (Arriate*), Ronda

*One train daily

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THE FOCUS adventure

ALL ABOARD

PHOTOGRAPHY JON SEGUI

HMS Pickle for Tall Ship Stories!

HMS Pickle is a sensational new tourist attraction in Ocean Village but her skipper is every bit as fascinating as his replica 18th century tall ship. Step aboard his schooner and this modern-day Captain Onedin will spin you a spellbinding yarn – and not a tall story among them, as Belinda Beckett reports.

I

n 1805, it took the speedy schooner Pickle just seven days to sail from Gibraltar to Falmouth with urgent dispatches from the Battle of Trafalgar in a race that has entered seafaring legend.

In 2013, it took her replica nearly three months to complete a similar voyage in reverse.

Both journeys played out to high drama on stormy seas, like history repeating itself. But while Lieutenant Lapenotiere had 33 crew to help him carry news of Nelson’s victory to England, Captain Robin James completed the last 500-mile leg of his journey with just one hand – his Dad. The rest of the crew had abandoned ship!

Gibraltar’s new floating tourist attraction should have been safely berthed in Ocean Village and shipshape to welcome visitors aboard for Trafalgar Day on October 21 last year. Instead, she was rounding Cape Trafalgar in rough weather, close to the very spot where the famous battle once raged.

“We went for four days without sleep and arrived in Gibraltar only five hours overdue for our belated welcome party,” says Robin, who spliced a few celebratory main braces with his father when they reached dry land. “Our best day’s run was 235 miles. Not many modern yachts can beat that.”

That wasn’t the worst of his choppy voyage from the Welsh island of Anglesey. First, a storm ‘super-cell’ shredded four of Pickles sails. Then, prophetically, off Cape Finisterre (where the original

Pickle was blown off course) flotsam got sucked into the water intake, damaging the engine beyond economic repair, and the 10-day crossing turned into a seven-week wait for a new one.

With his crew forced to return home, Robin’s father flew to the rescue. Stranded off Spain’s ‘coast of death’ (named for its shipwrecks) near a village called Camarinas that’s barely a speck on the map, the two master mariners and their stricken 97-foot square rigger became quite the celebrities. “We spoke no Spanish and the locals spoke no English but they looked after us like family, washing our clothes and bringing us food and fuel,” Robin recalls with gratitude to Good Samaritans Manolo, Paloma, Eduardo, Fina, Pedro and José.

Like her ancestral namesake, Pickle rose to every challenge and today visitors can climb aboard to witness how harsh life was aboard a wooden warship during the Napoleonic Wars.

But it’s Captain James’s spellbinding narrative that brings her story to life. A born raconteur, he can tell you the position of every ship in the battle, who perished and how they died, in graphic detail.

The one about the skipper decapitated by a canon

ball, whose headless body was paraded around the deck with the crew yelling “three cheers for the captain,” is particularly gruesome! Youngsters, as well as grown-ups, devour his lurid tales and the ship is booked for as many children’s birthday parties as corporate events. “Everyone knows the headlines, I like to fill in the colour,” says Captain James whose demonstrations with an amputation saw and a clockwork blood-letting machine are enough to make grown men faint!

One of his more unlikely theatrical props is a Georgian silver muffineer (sugar sprinkler) which he brandishes when telling the story of Lapenotiere’s audience with King George lll (who, you’ll recall, was slightly mad). As Robin tells it: “King George, who was at breakfast, asked the Lieutenant to re-enact the battle on the table, using the condiments as ships. Bear in mind that the exhausted lieutenant had spent seven days and nights at sea followed by a 37-hour ride to London with 19 changes of horse… for which the King presented him with HMS Victory – the sugar sprinkler! You’ll be happy to know he got his just reward later – £500, equivalent to six year’s salary, and a promotion.”

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g Guided tours are held

daily ( £12.50 for adults, £7.50 for children).

Book online at www.schoonerpickle.com

For the last eight years, Robin has sailed his floating museum all round Britain, visiting 52 ports in one year, but Gibraltar has been the richest source of documentary evidence for his yarns.

“My research never stops,” says Robin, a stickler for facts.

“Most of the paintings of Pickle at Trafalgar depict her with a lofty rig but she had her mast shortened in Gibraltar before the battle.”

Period weapons, navigation equipment and medical instruments of torture can be examined at close quarters, if you dare. Robin believes in a hands-on approach.

All hands on deck are required too, as keeping Pickle shipshape is a full-time job. “Blood, sweat and tears,” says Robin.

“To quote a line from Master and Commander, ‘there’s enough of my blood in her woodwork to make her a relation.” But his floating home is such a crowd pleaser, he’s never short of volunteers to swab the decks.

Living below deck where there’s barely room to swing a cat o’ nine tails doesn’t seem ideal for a man of his height but he’s accustomed to it. His earliest memory as a toddler was waking up in a bedside drawer on his father’s salvage ship, where he had been tenderly placed to sleep! And years at sea have reset his body clock. “I’m used to four hours sleep, four on watch,” he says matter-of-factly.

He may not be getting much kip in the coming months as his pride and joy is available for private hire. He’s hoping to host his first wedding this summer, with caterers and a full bar service.

The schooner can accommodate 20-25 guests seated on deck or more than 30 for a standing fork buffet.

Coming from a long line of master mariners, it’s clear that Robin’s first mistress is the sea. His great grandfather captained a ship called the Earl of Lathom, sunk by the same German U-boat commander who torpedoed the Lusitania, killing 1,201 men, women and children and bringing America into the 1st World War. Yet this modern-day Captain Onedin has a string of qualifications and once worked in “proper jobs, in finance, banking and tourism,” where he had to wear a suit and tie. “My father saw no future in the merchant navy so I had to join the real world,” he says.

But the call of the sea was louder and, with his family’s help, the Pickle was bought, built from original plans drawn up by the Navy in 1804. The original schooner ran aground off Cádiz in 1808, where she still lies today in her watery grave.

In Gibraltar her memory goes on, kept alive by the immaculate Pickle Mark Two and a charming sea captain who was born to spin yarns. e ESSENTIALMAGAZINE.COM JULY/AUGUST 2013 / 55

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THE FOCUS people

gibraltar

telecom WORDS AMY WILLIAMS PHOTOGRAPHY JON SEGUI

When the gaming companies made their first forays into Gibraltar over a decade ago, the infrastructure and technology were in place to secure their stay; when the demand for data centres rose sharply in recent years, the facility to meet it was there; and when you’ve got a problem with your phone, mobile, or broadband, there’s someone waiting to take your call within a few rings. Being one step ahead in business is a skill on which you simply can’t put a price and, whether on a global or local scale, it’s the strategy at the heart of Gibtelecom’s operations.

“I

n such a fast-moving and dynamic business it is essential to keep building the technology”, says CEO Tim Bristow, who played a central role in the merger which saw Gibraltar Nynex Communications purchase Gibtel back in 2001, and who was consequently asked then to take up the post he still holds today. “Like any communications company,” he continues, “we have to keep developing. People almost feel like life’s come to an end if they’re not able to communicate instantly. We’ve got a great commitment to investing in, and keeping pace with that technology so we are there to meet the demand.”

On a local level, Gibtelecom is currently installing core technology for a new internet network, called VDSL2, which will eventually enable standard internet speeds of up to 100mbps throughout Gibraltar. Faster than the speed at which most, virtually all, computers would work, it means the opportunities open up for a host of other services. It could, for example, be capable of carrying television and a number of other media services that are being looked into at the moment. It would also put Gibraltar up there as one of the places you can get the fastest internet speeds in Europe.

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The other aspect of technology which Bristow believes will change is the whole area of mobile and wifi. “We’re already extending our wifi network, partly driven by the government who is very keen to have more extensive wifi throughout the Rock, particularly so tourists can access certain official sites free of charge in particular areas. And mobile is constantly developing. There’s a whole new generation of technology to cope with faster data that’s coming downstream, so we are preparing for that. The difficulty with mobile at the moment is the planning permission for more mobile masts.

People are living cheek by jowl with technology and I understand it needs careful management, but it is something the community will have to get to grips with if it wants to continue to have good mobile connectivity. You’ll see as you move from voice to data that you need more aerials because the signals penetrate differently, and that only continues as you go up the technology spectrum.”

Bristow’s foresight extends far beyond the local market. A few years ago, Gibraltar became one of 16 investors (key telecommunications players such as BT, AT&T and Cable & Wireless among them) in the Europe India Gateway (EIG), a 15,000km submarine cable system which runs from London to Mumbai and comprises 13 landing points,

including Gibraltar. A sea cable doesn’t suffer the human interferences, such as construction work or accidents, as its land-lain alternative; nor does it have the same restrictions on capacity. In fact, the capacity it affords Gibraltar far exceeds even the most ambitious local requirements. Therefore, Gibtelecom is selling some of that capacity and bandwidth overseas, and with it securing a sustainable revenue away from the Rock.

“Building a global business is absolutely key,” Bristow elaborates, “With the EIG we’ve improved our international network and as a result of all of this, we’re now landing deals with telcos as far away as South Africa and Australia, with some parts of Asia in the pipeline, and also, some in the US. It is the first time in over a century that a communications link has run east out of Gibraltar, and via Monaco on to France, which is a huge entry point into Europe for a lot of sea cables coming through from the southern hemisphere and elsewhere. It also makes our proposition to connect Gibraltar and Africa more attractive for Moroccan telcos, and we’re in discussion with some of them about this. The objective, as success builds, is to develop a larger overseas marketing arm. Critically, we’re building a business which really is to some extent independent of a mature domestic telecoms market where the opportunities for the incumbent to continue growing are challenging.”

Back to business in Gibraltar however, and to the modest customer service centre in John Mackintosh Square which belies the global operations gathering strength in the executive offices above. With a call centre catering for the 24/7 needs of the local market as diligently

as the team charged with monitoring the $700 million EIG project, customer service on every level remains extremely important to Gibtelecom.

Not only are the Gibtelecom offices open beyond those of most other local businesses (whatever the season) but the call centres are manned all hours of the day too. And when you do ring (a call which in 95 per cent of cases is answered within a few rings) you get through to a real human being. Not for Gibtelecom customers the painful process of ‘press 1 for this, press 2 for that...’.

Bristow’s philosophy is refreshingly simple: “We’re a communications company,” he says, “I believe that when someone rings up they ought to speak to an actual person.”

In fact, it appears that Gibtelecom’s commitment to customer service reaches almost altruistic levels. Talk turns to the scattering of traditional red phone boxes across Gibraltar, the main role of which is to feature in those much-taken tourist photos. “Like all regulated incumbents, we are classified in Gibraltar as the universal service provider so there are certain services we have to provide, irrespective of the revenue we make from them,” Bristow explains. “For example, if someone wants a fixed line phone, wherever on the Rock they are, we have to provide it, irrespective if it costs more to get there, or even if they built the house and there wasn’t a line to it. We have to do that. Likewise, we are nominated to provide the public phone boxes. If you were looking at it economically, you’d probably do away with most of them, but some of them have to remain as there still are people who don’t use a mobile.”

“Maybe we should charge for the photos.” he jokes?

g www.gibtele.com

15/21 John Mackintosh Square T: +350 200 52200.

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THE FOCUS people

JU LI A N Julian Lennon has a slightly different take on celebrity than his father did. The son of the man who was posthumously forgiven by the Vatican for his comment that the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus”, and who attracted so much hysteria that the term ‘Beatlemania’ made it into the modern dictionary, tells me that, actually, he prefers to fly “under the radar”.

WORDS AMY WILLIAMS PHOTOGRAPHY © KHPHOTOGRAPHY.CO.UK

A

nd who can blame him? Julian was just a baby when Beatlemania really took hold. His mother, Cynthia Powell, had fallen in love with John Lennon just moments before the rest of the world; the couple had courted, conceived and married, and to all intents and purposes had their future ahead of them. But then they were catapulted into a situation far crazier than any young family should ever have to face. For a long time, Cynthia and Julian were one of the Beatles’ best kept secrets; a decision made by manager Brian Epstein who considered the news of a wife and child to be a threat to the boys’ bachelor image. But the most devastating impact of the Beatles’ success was the long periods of separation it imposed on the family. “I felt very abandoned”, says Julian.

The Beatles Memorabilia Exhibition, brought

to Gibraltar by Julian’s White Feather Foundation and presented by Awesome Premier Events Ltd, is the reason for Julian’s visit to the Rock. Currently on display in the Gustavo Bacarisas Galleries in Casemates Square, it is the story of this period of John Lennon’s history, his meteoric launch to fame, and the Lennons’ short-lived family life.

It is told by those who knew him intimately, his wife and son, and surrounding their commentary is Julian Lennon’s personal collection of Beatles memorabilia and family items, many of which he has actually had to buy (somewhat controversially, as he was left so little by his father) to bring them back into the family.

Julian says that the collection began as his pursuit of the personal items that he remembered from his childhood, in his words, the things he could recall touching and feeling as a child. One such example, encased in the exhibition, is his father’s 1970 Honda ‘Monkey Bike’, the memories of riding around on which he describes as some of the happiest he has of his time with his dad.

Over time, the collection grew, and Julian extended it to more mainstream Beatles’ memorabilia. Handwritten lyrics to Hey Jude, a song believed to have been written for Julian by

Paul McCartney when Paul’s thoughts were with the young boy during John and Cynthia’s divorce (‘Jude’ eventually replacing the original ‘Jules’ that McCartney had penned), as well as John’s iconic Afghan coat, being some of the star attractions.

But while these form part of the rock and roll history which many come to see, it is perhaps Julian’s mother, John Lennon’s first love, who leaves the most lasting impression. Throughout John’s rise to fame, the drugs he so publicly experimented with, the divorce, the famous remarriage, the Beatles split, the high-profile peace protests, and ultimately his assassination, Cynthia had to stay strong for Julian. With her world turned upside down, her son was her only concern.

Understandably therefore, despite having a father whom the world idolised, for Julian his role model remains his mother: “One of the main reasons I feel I’m a good person comes from mum and her balance and the respect and love I have for her. I look to her if I feel I’m stepping off the mark a bit, and think how she would feel about it, and how it would affect her. That’s always kept me focused and centred. She’s everything to me.”

And what does he feel his father’s legacy is

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a Exhibition i l i b a r o m e M s e Beatl

N O N N E L

e at Th

JULIAN LENNON’S BEATLES MEMORABILIA EXHIBITION www.lennongibraltar.com

AWESOME PREMIER EVENTS

www.awesomepremierevents.com www.awesomeglobalevents.com

to him? “From dad’s side of things, it would have to be partially some of the musical elements, but that’s something I’ve had to work on too over the years.” And worked he has, often under the inevitable scrutiny of those comparing him to his father. “I’m damned if I do, and damned if I don’t” he says, “But I can’t stand around listening to what other people have to say.” A love for photography has also seen Julian carve a career in that art, receiving critical acclaim for some of his exhibitions, and importantly to him, creating an identity independent of his father.

Aside from the music, one trait that is obviously shared by father and son is humanitarianism.

The White Feather Foundation, for example, is a charity established by Julian himself, which raises money and awareness for global environmental and humanitarian causes. “This year” he tells me, “we have five or six sanitation projects going on, largely in Kenya and South Africa. We have other smaller projects too. We are rebuilding orphanages in Sri Lanka, supplying secondhand wheelchairs, and facilitating education to communities around the world.”

The story behind the name of the foundation is as moving as the work it does. John once

promised Julian that should he pass away, he would send him a sign that everything was okay, and it would take the form of a white feather. On tour in Australia some ten years ago, an Aboriginal elder presented Julian with a white feather. “It took my breath away”, he says. As to whether he feels his father remains with him in spirit, he simply says, “There are days when you feel, as we all do, that there’s positive energy around you.”

In the first room of the exhibition there is a photo album compiled by Cynthia with a picture of John holding Julian as a baby. Accompanying it, she writes that when John held Julian for the first time he said to him, “Who’s going to be a little rocker just like his dad then?” I ask Julian how he would describe to his dad what he has indeed become. “Music is part of what I do and what my life is, and it’s an important part, but there are so many other things I like being part of creatively, such as photography and documentaries. I am that little rocker, but much more besides, and I’m pretty comfortable with that.” e

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THE FOCUS people

Hail Taxi!

A ‘Rock’ band going places A words Belinda Beckett Photography Jon Segui

Spain and Gibraltar may be at political loggerheads but one ‘Rock’ band with a hefty Hispanic following is proving that music transcends the most embattled frontiers.

The name’s Taxi and no border queue seems likely to stop this successful group’s momentum, as Belinda Beckett reports.

ppropriately, for an interview about music, I’m ‘down on Main Street’ talking to a guy named Dylan.

Except that Dylan Ferro doesn’t conform to the rock musician stereotype. There are no tattoos, nose rings or weird hair; just a polite, clean-cut 37-yearold sporting studious Joe Ninety specs and drinking 7Up. He could almost be a bank manager. In fact, he’s the son of one!

Dylan is the front man of (or should that be ‘First Driver’?) of the Gibraltar pop rock band, Taxi.

‘Formed in 2005 by three of the original musicians from Melon Diesel’ is usually added here, by way of explanation. Pretty soon, that won’t be necessary. Melon Diesel, hugely successful, produced three albums. Taxi are running on a full tank with five and geared up to release a second single (Quantas Noches Más) from their latest offering, Tras el Horizonte. With a Latino Grammy

nomination under their belt for their previous disc, they’ll soon be overtaking their own reputation!

“The key to the music of Melon Diesel then, and Taxi now, is that although we sing in Spanish our music sounds British,” says Dylan. “That’s largely what got us supporting act gigs with big British bands like Oasis, R.E.M. and The Manic Street Preachers.” It was an amazing experience for the guys who regard Taxi as a live band first and foremost, rather than a production line for hit records.

Much has been written about the break-up of Melon Diesel, whose fan base Taxi inherited. But it boiled down to one crucial artistic difference: two members who wanted to switch to English lyrics (they got what they wanted and play the local circuit as Area 52); and three guys who decided to continue down the Spanish route with Taxi. It paid dividends. The English version of Taxi’s first

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“ We haven’t sat down to compose together for nine years. We do it all over the Internet.” album sold 20,000 copies, compared to 200,000 in Spanish.

Further proof of Spanish loyalty came at Taxi’s May Day concert in Casemates Square, packed to the gunnels with more than 2,000 Gibraltarian fans and nearly half as many from across the border.

It was the highlight of their 12-date national tour.

“Some of the Spanish fans came from the opposite end of the country, as far as Bilbao – it was living proof that music has no frontiers,” says Dylan, who returns that loyalty with enthusiasm. He loves engaging with the audience on stage and devotes nearly as much time to signing autographs as performing.

Why Taxi? “Like Melon Diesel, Taxi is the same word in Spanish as English,” explains Dylan. And, as the band has matured, perhaps it’s more PC than being named after a particularly lethal cocktail served at The Admiral Collingwood, one of the Gibraltar bars where MD used to gig.

And definitely better than another of Dylan’s previous incarnations as a drummer with Sympathy for the Blonde, a band that became notorious for kicking off bar room brawls. “The worst thing was having to ask for money for the gig after everything in the place had been wrecked,” recalls Dylan with a wince.

As the lead singer of that band was regularly too hungover from Friday to perform on the Saturday, Dylan got his first break at the mike. Today Taxi’s lead vocalist, composer and multi-instrumentalist (piano, acoustic guitar, bass, drums, harmonica, there’s not much he can’t play) also runs a profitable sound and lighting company. Málaga’s Costa Pop Festival, which has featured Sting and Katy Perry, is an important client.

As another string to his bow, he organised

Gibraltar’s first Music Festival last September, headlining Jessie J. It was so successful, he’s been booked to mastermind the next four. The one-day concert took him a year to set up.

Dylan describes himself as “the businessman” of the band “although a businessman who doesn’t take life too seriously,” he adds. Of his comusicians, Dani Bugeja is “the technical genius” and Dani Fa “the best sound man”.

“We all grew up together and every album is a team effort, that way we avoid artistic confrontation,” says Dylan – although this team’s efforts begin home alone. “We haven’t sat down to compose together for nine years. We do it all over the internet with a Mac programme called Logic Pro 9. We bounce ideas around of course. We worked on 60 songs for Tras el Horizonte before choosing the final 10.”

Well-received by the critics who praised it for being ‘less produced and more organic’, enjoying its ‘raw, intimate acoustics’, Tras el Horizonte follows on from Mirando Atrás and Aquí y Ahora. The titles seem linked, as in a trilogy, although that was never intended. “We chose the current theme of looking to the future in a positive way to counteract the depression of La Crisis in Spain,” says Dylan.

“We’re well aware that many of our Spanish fans are hard up or maybe out of work and can’t afford to buy albums, let alone concert tickets.”

But there’s always room for optimism... or, as the lyrics of the first single from the album go, ‘Siempre hay una estrella’.

Although Dylan and the crew are by no means rich yet, they flaunt a sartorial elegance on stage that fashion icon Bryan Ferry would appreciate. The suave velvet jackets and satin-revered DJs come courtesy of their tour sponsor, the Málaga men’s

fashion brand Narrma. “Nike used to endorse us but we like this look better,” says Dylan.

It’s a fitting image for a band that is clearly set to continue Gibraltar’s great musical tradition, exemplified by artists like Albert Hammond, Giles Ramirez and the alternative flamenco rock band, Breed 77.

Does Dylan have any idea why this miniscule British Overseas Territory should be such a hotbed of musical talent?

“I think Gibraltar’s multiculturalism adds creative edge,” he replies. “We all bring different influences to our music. Dani Bugeja is of Maltese extraction, Dani Fa is Spanish, my Italian ancestry comes across in my singing, it’s a great mix!”

On a day-to-day basis, they all speak Llanito, Gibraltar’s Spanglish patois that’s almost a language in its own right. It might prevent a few arguments if used for song lyrics but it would probably never catch on! Taxi’s Facebook page is loaded with Llanito, witness their May Day concert status update: ‘Thank you very much Gibraltar, como siempre a pleasure de toca en casa.’

Wherever they may roam (and for the rest of 2013, that won’t be far), Gibraltar is very much this band’s ‘casa’. Although a concert tour to Mexico, back door to the L.A. music scene, is on their wish list, they plan to spend the coming months recharging their batteries, working on private projects, playing a few local gigs and enjoying the summer with their wives and families.

“People have some strange misconceptions about Gibraltar but it’s a great place to live and I plug it whenever I can,” says Dylan. “It’s safe, it’s like a village where everyone knows each other, it’s relaxed, it has culture, the weather’s great. What’s not to like?” e

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style

INTERIORS / ARCHITECTURE / ART / FASHION

Come with us on a visit to stylish contemporary penthouse, The Sails, whose interior was dreamed up by Denville Designs, and dress up in the most colourful fashion this summer with Desigual. On a physical and spiritual level, relaxation doesn’t get much better than at the Hotel Aguas de Ibiza Spa, and find out why vitamin D is so important for our well-being.

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THE STYLE decor

When Meme Fairbank of Denville Designs has her first consultation with a client, her aim is to really get to know them, to understand their ideas, their requirements and their vision, and to translate that into the furnishings, fittings and fabrics which will then come together to complete the home of their dreams.

Careful consideration will go into everything from their personal preferences regarding style, right down to where they will rest their wine glass. In short, she ensures she is going to deliver a look and functionality that is quite literally made for them. When the time came to have this conversation concerning the £2 million penthouse at The Sails however, she was given but one brief: simply, to ‘wow’.

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The Sails by

Denville Designs WORDS AMY WILLIAMS Photography courtesy of Denville Designs

I

t was the bonus ball of blank canvases. The Sails is the latest luxury development to be completed in the exclusive area of Queensway Quay, keeping good company with the equally prestigious properties of The Island and a short walk away, Kings Wharf. In this prime location, the spacious, three-bedroom penthouse looks out over the Strait to the south, the Rock to the east, and down onto the boats bobbing in the upmarket marina below. Covering a capacious 236m2, the three-bedroom penthouse is a pretty impressive property to work with.

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The open plan layout of The Sails is such that when you step through the front door you’re immediately met with sunlight that has made its unobstructed way in through the large glass doors from the terrace, across the expanse of lounge area and on to fill the hall in which you find yourself. A few steps further (or rather strides, given the size of the hall, which not only has a bathroom coming off it, but also a sizeable store room) and you’re in the open, breezy body of the property.

It is an airy space with modern, wood floors, white walls and numerous spotlights across the ceiling.

The furniture is select, but the limited number of pieces are big and they all make their own necessary statement in such a large space. The sweeping sofa is cream leather and its contours match those of the large, circular mirrored coffee table, underneath which a bold black rug neatly defines the seating area while breaking up the expanse of floor surrounding

it. There are more windows than there is wall space, and the sense is truly that the outside is brought in. The organic curves continue in the dining area where a simple, circular, glass dining table with a single, central support is attended by six cream leather chairs. The open plan, designer kitchen is fitted with clean, cream fronted cupboards, Silestone worktops, Bosch appliances and a central island which also serves as a breakfast bar, complete with tall chairs matching those of the dining table, plus under-counter lighting. Why you need your knees illuminated I’m not sure, but the effect from afar is extremely elegant.

While the clean, natural colours of the penthouse are in keeping with the modern style which is very much in demand, Meme, who learned the art of design from top designers in the UK as well as from her own mother who established Denville Designs in 1990, has thrown in a couple of creative curve balls.

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The wallpaper which forms the backdrop for the dining table has a holographic, metallic finish which closely resembles corrugated iron in its appearance, and almost has to be touched to be believed. It was quite the talking point when contractors were coming and going at the property Meme says, but she defended her choice and not only has it proved to work as a real feature, but she was truly vindicated when the same wallpaper, designed by Osborne & Little, went on to win an award at a design show in Chelsea shortly afterwards. The wallpaper in the hall is eye-catching too. With something of a 3D ‘magic eye’ effect to it; you wonder what image would appear if you were to stare at it for long enough...

It’s fine for fleeting moments as you enter or leave

the property, but Meme tells me she noticed that one local law firm had actually used it in their boardroom. That might be a little too much on the eyes.

Meme has thrown in splashes of colour such as quirky cushions from the Picture Show range by Andrew Martin to break up the big sofa, and she has also introduced a number of feature lamps

by RV Astley, two of which stand on mirror-finish tables on each side of the wallpapered area in the dining room, their bases formed by what looks like a tumbling tower of bronze building blocks. And, in a strikingly similar pose to that of Rodin’s The Thinker, the figure of a lady covered in a surface of mirrored mosaic sits in the corner of the lounge.

When the sunlight catches her or the spotlights

are on, she says, the glitterball effect it produces is truly disco.

All three bedrooms, in line with the rest of the apartment, are light-filled and spacious, but the master bedroom with its en suite is simply stunning. The enormity of the bedroom is hilighted by the minimal furniture to be found in it. A chest of drawers, mirrored like much of the furniture in the main living room, stands in one corner, and a simple armchair in the other. Two bedside tables, also sporting feature RV Astley lamps, complete the furniture count. It is an absolutely minimal arrangement. And why? Because the master bedroom has a walk-in wardrobe about the same size as a small bedroom, therefore negating the need for free-standing wardrobes or storage of any kind in the bedroom itself. It allows the bedroom space to remain clean, uncluttered and completely conducive to rest.

One striking feature shared by all three of the bedrooms is a huge headboard which occupies a large part of the wall behind each bed. Meme chose and installed these headboards in order to complement the angles of the architecture; they are big and bold and almost serve as pieces of art in themselves.

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g Denville Designs 62 Engineers Lane, Gibraltar.

T: +350 200 44012. www.denvilledesigns.com

On to the en suite, and central to this room is a free-standing bath from which, as you soak, you can take in the views across the Strait and on to Africa. Should your schedule not allow for drifting away to other continents however, a sizeable shower will see you through your bathing ritual even more efficiently. A further bathroom is shared by bedrooms two and three, and all are the only rooms in the apartment where the timber floor finishes, and ceramic tiles take its place.

And rather than conceal itself in a kitchen cupboard as is quite often the case in apartments where space is in short supply, even the washing machine has its own room. Hardly high on the ‘to decorate’ list, but a fair-sized room nonetheless,

and it keeps the utilities away from the living areas where the emphasis really is on relaxation.

Leave the interior of the apartment, through any one of a number of doors leading out from the lounge, dining room, master bedroom or its en suite, and you arrive on the large, fullydecked, south-facing terrace. With outdoor living a key requirement in a Mediterranean climate, Meme has made sure that this outdoor space is every bit as comfortable as inside, with a large percentage of the budget spent on the tables, chairs, sofas and loungers which make up the outdoor furniture. And there is a lot of terrace to cover. Following the terrace around the periphery of the apartment to the west-facing area and, at the end, overlooking the Bay is instant relaxation

in the form of a hot tub. Out on the water, one of Gibraltar’s rowing clubs is practising its strokes.

When the hot tub is occupied, I imagine, it would be only fitting to raise a glass of Champagne to them to applaud their efforts… The terrace stops at the tub, meaning the only aspect that can’t be enjoyed from outside is that facing north. Already having the Bay, the Strait and the Rock to choose from however, it’s not a cause for concern.

The Sails penthouse is every bit the show home. It is open and airy, yet cosy and comfortable. Smart and slick, it captures the essence of modern, luxury living, but with Meme’s expert and tasteful touches it has elements of fun, colour and flair. In a word?

Wow! e

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THE STYLE fashion

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sex.

fun.

love.

WORDS Marisa CUTILLAS

Desigual Inspired by French baroque romanticism, the colourful world of the circus, the elegance of sailing and the undeniable charm of the cowboy era, Desigual’s Summer 2013 collection is anything but homogenous, celebrating the brand’s core values: originality, quirkiness and positivity.

We bring you some of their hottest designs.

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i www.desigual.com

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THE STYLE health

WORDS MARISA CUTILLAS PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF HOTEL ***** AGUAS DE IBIZA

BRING ME TO LIFE! THE HOTEL ***** AGUAS DE IBIZA’S REVIVAL SPA

TREATMENT

T

“

Members of the Ibizan jetset are currently raving about the recently renovated Revival Spa by Clarins

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”

he hypnotic rhythm of electronic music. A non-stop party scene that envelops you from the moment your feet touch its soft sands.

The unabashed glamour of the world’s top models, designers, actors and artists who converge for a few, magical evenings to discover what true freedom feels like. Ibiza is all these things and more, but take a few steps along the pages of its history and you will find that its essence can be found in natural sites like God’s Finger in the Benirràs Bay or the remains of the first Phoenician settlement at Sa Caleta. A myriad of Ibiza’s wonders are registered UNESCO World Heritage Sites and the island’s pristine, wild beauty has long made it a choice backdrop for the work of acclaimed photographers and film makers from around the world. Like all famous goddesses, Ibiza’s heart beats to its own rhythm: one that mimics the ebb and flow of the tides, the warmth of the earth and the lightness of the atmosphere: it is precisely these qualities that the Hotel ***** Aguas de Ibiza’s Revival Spa has sought to capture and share with the world’s savviest spa-goers.

The Hotel ***** Aguas de Ibiza is a landmark of luxury in Ibiza, a ravishing haven that is both Ibicenco and Mediterranean. Rising high on the Santa Eulalia seafront, a mere 15 minute drive from the airport and 10 minutes from a good game of golf and the historic centre of Dalt Vila, the Hotel is famed for the Feng Shui principles which guide its architecture and design. Health, Nature, Space and the Environment are the pillars it stands on, so even the keenest eco-warriors can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that photovoltaic panels, condensed water climatisation and free cooling make for a guilt-free yet highly pleasurable stay.

Added to this is the knock-out cuisine served at restaurants like La Sal, which offers a fusion of traditional, insular and contemporary cuisine, or Óligo Madeinterranean, with the very best modern Mediterranean cuisine. If chilling out before a night at Pachá or Privilege is on the cards, what could be better than a cocktail at Air Ibiza, the al fresco roof terrace, inspired in its design on the luxury airline industry of the 1960s?

Members of the Ibizan jetset are currently

raving about the recently renovated Revival Spa

by Clarins, which has taken the island into a whole new league when it comes to providing a true grand-luxe, five-star experience. Minimalistic in design yet bearing subtle Mediterranean influences, the spa, designed by Barcelonan firm Sara Folch, is predominated by white and sandy hues. Wide-open spaces, large, comfy resting beds and plush cushions abound. It measures no less than 1,500m2, boasting 11 spacious treatment rooms (one of which is a couples’ room), as well as a thermal area with a sauna, hammam, Roman bath, cold well, ice fountain, counter-current pool, water bed pool, Feng Shui pool, relaxation areas (interior and exterior) and a wellness bar offering a selection of teas, fruit juices, fruit and natural biscuits. The Spa also houses a savvy gym equipped with the very latest in workout machines.

One of the most exciting developments at Revival is its collaboration with prestigious beauty firm, Clarins, to create a new brand: Skin Spa Clarins. Here, men and women alike are offered cutting-edge facial and body treatments. Apart from those on the Skin Spa menu, clients can select from a wide range of therapies and rituals, including massages with locally sourced herbs, clay body wraps, exfoliating treatments using Mediterranean olives or sea salt, revitalising algae treatments and a multitude of Oriental treatments, including the ground-breaking Watsu, a therapy taking place in the water, described by many as akin to a regression into the womb.

Staffed by beauty, nutrition and osteopathy specialists, as well as Personal Trainers and teachers of yoga, Pilates, aqua spinning, etc., the Revival Spa has everything you need to relax or work up a sweat, and it is the only establishment in Spain to offer the Universal Contour Wrap, which guarantees a loss of 15cm in just one session. Other popular treatments include the Body Sculptor, pressotherapy and Eurowave therapy (which reduces cellulite and keeps skin firm and tight).

The staff also invites savvy spa-goers to design their own dream treatment programme, pampering body and mind in the most individual of ways.

g C/ Salvador Camacho 9, Santa Eulalia del Río, Ibiza. Tel: 932 722 221. www.aguasdeibiza.com 6/27/13 10:56 AM

Valmont Spa - New in Gibraltar…

The newly opened Valmont Spa in the Specialist Medical Clinic in Gibraltar offers four rejuvenating facial and décolleté treatments for men and women, from the luxurious Swiss skin care range of spa products and facial treatments from Valmont. Natural Swiss ingredients and the latest in cellular cosmetic research are used to formulate anti-aging skin care products that produce lasting results.

The brand’s treatments are found at the world’s top beauty and wellness clinics and now, exclusively in Gibraltar, at Valmont Spa. Also available, an exclusive range of Il Profvmo His and Her fragrances from Italy which are not available for purchase on the high street.

Valmont Spa Specialist Medical Clinic 1st Floor, ICC Building, Casemates Square, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 49999 info@smg.gi

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THE STYLE health

The Vitamin From the Sun exposure to the skin is the human race’s natural, intended, most effective and most neglected source of vitamin D.

• Vitamin D sufficiency, along with diet and exercise, has emerged as one of the most important preventive factors in human health. Hundreds of studies now link vitamin D deficiency with significantly higher rates of many forms of cancer‚ as well as heart disease‚ osteoporosis‚ multiple sclerosis and many other conditions and diseases.

• Vitamin D is important to the body in many other ways as well. Muscles need it to move, for example, nerves need it to carry messages between the brain and every body part, and the immune system needs vitamin D to fight off invading bacteria and viruses. Together with Calcium, Vitamin D also helps protect older adults from osteoporosis. Vitamin D is found in cells throughout the body.

• Food: Very few foods in nature contain Vitamin D. The flesh of fatty fish (such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel) and fish liver oils are among the best sources. Small amounts of Vitamin D are found in beef liver, cheese, and egg yolks. Some mushrooms

Sun

WORDS VERÓNICA GUERRA. HOLLAND & BARRETT’S QUALIFIED PRODUCT ADVISOR.

provide Vitamin D2 in variable amounts.

The body makes Vitamin D when skin is directly exposed to the sun, and most people meet at least some of their Vitamin D needs this way. Skin exposed to sunshine indoors through a window will not produce Vitamin D. Cloudy days, shade, and having dark-coloured skin also cuts down on the amount of Vitamin D the skin makes. However, despite the importance of the sun to Vitamin D synthesis, it is prudent to limit exposure of skin to sunlight in order to lower the risk of skin cancer.

When out in the sun for more than a few minutes, wear protective clothing and apply sunscreen with an SPF (sun protection factor) of 8 or more. Tanning beds also cause the skin to make Vitamin D, but pose similar risks for skin cancer.

People who avoid the sun or who cover their bodies with sunscreen or clothing should include good sources of Vitamin D in their diets or take a supplement. Recommended intakes of Vitamin D are set on the assumption of little sun exposure.

g Verónica Guerra. Holland & Barrett’s Qualified Product Advisor.

References: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminDHealthProfessional/Holick, MF. Vitamin D Deficiency.

New England Journal of Medicine, July 2007

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thepro NEWS /ENTERPRISE / LOCAL BUSINESS /

PROFILES / FINANCE / LAW

RESTAURANT EL FARO OPENS AT MARINA BAY

Foodies in Gibraltar have a brand new restaurant to try: El Faro, now unrecognisable as the former Marina Inn at Marina Bay after complete refurbishment. Under the management of Juan Ruiz Benitez, the well-known restaurateur from La Linea, products will be supplied exclusively by Gibraltar wholesalers Anglo Hispano Ltd. Specialising in Mediterranean rice, fish and seafood dishes, and meats from Avila and Segovia, the 120-seater restaurant will offer high standards at reasonable prices and can be booked for private functions and celebrations. Juan Ruiz Benitez has been involved in the culinary world since 1964. After qualifying at La Escuela de Hosteleria in San Roque, he became chef at the Hotel Pueblo Andaluz in Marbella, going on to manage and own various restaurants on the coast where he gained a reputation for his creative techniques. g Reservations, Tel: +350 200 79241.

Chef Juan Ruiz Benitez with Charles Isola of Anglo Hispano Ltd.

Gibraltar’s Danza Academy returned with 12 World Champion titles from the tough International Dance Federation World Dance Championships, held in Hungary in May. Their impressive medal count in the disciplines of Showdance, Fantasy Dance and Freestyle included 12 Golds, nine Silvers and seven Bronzes. Gibraltar was one of the strongest of the 19 competing nations and 2,000 dancers taking part, with most of Danza Academy’s 39 performers reaching the podium, and all dancing in finals. They particularly touched the hearts of spectators and judges with Effects of Terrorism, which received a standing ovation, and The List, based on the emotional movie Schindler’s List. "This is a reflection of a well prepared team,” said Anne Marie Gomez, Danza Director and President of the Gibraltar Dance Federation. “Most of the competitors were at a World Event for the first time.” g Further information

+350 5402 7111 or see Danza Academy’s Facebook page.

FRESHEN UP FOR SUMMER AT VALMONT SPA

Get a fresh face for summer at Gibraltar’s stylish new Valmont Spa, open for business at the Specialist Medical Clinic from 22nd of July at the ICC. A joint venture by Carole Sharrock and Susan Rhoda, they are launching with four rejuvenating facial and décolleté treatments, including facials for men, and an exclusive range of Il Profumo His and Her fragrances from Italy which you can’t buy in the high street. Heir to traditional Swiss medicine, the Valmont Group has been helping both sexes master the visible signs of ageing for more than 25 years. Natural Swiss ingredients and the latest in cellular cosmetic research are used to formulate anti-ageing skin care products that produce lasting results. The brand’s treatments are found at the world’s top beauty and wellness clinics and now, exclusively in Gibraltar, at Valmont Spa. g Tel: +350 200 49999. www.specialistmedicalclinic.com

Danza Academy’s World Champion Performance

Team Gibraltar at the IDF World Championships in Hungary

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A Broader Canvas for Gibraltar Fine Art Art on The Rock will receive fresh impetus from Gibraltar Fine Arts Association to raise its profile to new heights, the newly-elected committee has promised. “We aim take art forward and give it its rightful place in society,” said Paul Cosquieri, the Association’s new President. As the representative body of artists and art lovers in Gibraltar, the Association aims to play a major role in organising exhibitions and fostering links with artists and fine arts associations overseas, educational establishments and the public. The new committee has also pledged to develop a stronger relationship with local government, working closely with the Ministry of Culture to ensure that art in Gibraltar is given the status it deserves. Fine art fans wishing to get involved in the new venture should contact Paul Cosquieri on g Tel: + 350 5785 7000, or visit the Facebook

page, Fine Arts Gallery Gibraltar.

GIBRALTAR’S LOOKING SHIP-SHAPE Gibraltar is all ship-shape for summer with the completion of the first phase of renovation to tourist sites and the arrival of the world’s first five-star yacht hotel, Sunborn Gibraltar, which will soon be ready to welcome guests at Ocean Village. Visitors to The Rock this season will see improvements at the Great Siege Tunnels, the Moorish Castle, the 100 Ton Gun exhibition, Jews’ Gate, the Apes’ Den, the Gibraltar Cruise Terminal and Waterport Fountain. There are new toilet facilities and improved access at St Michael’s Cave, as well as a specialised lift at the new entrance, enabling guests with walking difficulties to view the Cave from the first landing. The Gibraltar Tourist Board has also introduced a portable induction loop system to assist visitors with hearing aids and is now considering enhancements for visitors with impaired vision. Check out the wealth of attractions on the Gibraltar Tourist Board's Official Website, www.visitgibraltar.gi

FIDUCIARY GROUP APPOINTS NEW MD Gibraltar newcomer David MacGregor recently took over the helm as Managing Director of Fiduciary Group.

Welcoming him to the company and his new home, Group Chairman Peter Isola said: “David's experience within the banking and private client services sectors will provide a wealth of knowledge and expertise which will further strengthen Fiduciary's position as a leader in private client services. It demonstrates our confidence in the market and commitment and desire to continue offering the best professional services to our current and new clients alike.”

David, who recently moved to Gibraltar with his wife Sonja, is looking forward to the twin challenges of taking up a new position in a new country. “Having already met the team at Fiduciary, I am very much looking forward to the opportunity ahead, and to playing my part in the continued development and growth of one of Gibraltar's leading companies,” he said. “The added benefit of being so closely associated with Gibraltar's longest-established law firm, Isolas, was an important factor in my accepting the role.” g www.fiduciarygroup.com

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New MD for KPMG Gibraltar

Iris Guillano (3rd from left) with the GMSS commite

NEW MS SUPPORT NETWORK Gibraltar Multiple Sclerosis Society held its official launch party at the Gala Casino in Ocean Village, the climax to two years of work to provide a support network for sufferers of this debilitating condition. Founder Iris Guilliano began her campaign after being diagnosed with MS in 2006 and finding little information and no centralised treatment locally. The Facebook page she started now has some 200 followers, the society became a registered charity last October and today it provides support to over 210 sufferers of MS and similar neurological conditions, sharing information on therapies, exercises, foods and tools. “We have a great, hardworking team full of plans for the future, and a fantastic rapport with our Shadow and Health Ministers who have approved premises for a library and treatments and are looking into our request for a neurology clinic,” says Iris. “In eight short months we have accomplished a great deal.” g Further information gibraltarmss@yahoo.co.uk

Micky Swindale has been seconded from the Isle of Man to head up the team at KPMG Gibraltar as Managing Director. She will spend the rest of 2013 working to further develop and integrate the practice.

KPMG is a global network of member firms in over 152 countries offering audit, tax and advisory services to help clients mitigate risks and grasp opportunities. Ms Swindale has been closely involved with the Gibraltar practice since its set-up in 2008, when she was responsible for launching the office, recruiting staff, establishing new client relationships and, in her subsequent role, delivering advisory services to clients in the gaming sector in particular. Mike Harvey, KPMG Gibraltar’s resident Director of Audit, welcomed the move: “Micky is a familiar face to our clients and staff here in Gibraltar, and will be a popular appointment, helping to take us to the next level of what has proved a very successful business expansion for KPMG”.

g www.kpmg.com

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EXPLORIA TRAVEL – MORE THAN THE TICKET!

The personal touch from Ben Brinkman of Explonia Travel, Gibraltar

Whether you’re looking for culture, adventure, an exotic beach holiday or seats for a Real-Barca game, Exploria Travel can fly you from your home turf at an unbeatable price. Founder Ben Brinkman, who recently set up shop in Irish Town, Gibraltar and has nearly 30 years of experience in the business, matches packages offered by the biggest online brands, using regional airports in Málaga, Jerez, Sevilla and Gibraltar. “This means you don’t have to fly to London or Madrid to make use of fantastic travel offers,” he says. “It saves time, money and the hassle of adding an unwanted journey to your itinerary.” Ben can put together any tailor-made tour, while the face-to-face personal service he offers beats talking to a computer hands down!

g www.exploriatravel.com

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THE PRO business

UNLOCK YOUR GIBRALTAR EXPERIENCE WITH

KEY2GIB REPORT BELINDA BECKETT PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF DEVELOP I.T.

The time-honoured tradition of asking a bobby on the beat for directions could soon be a thing of the past in Gibraltar. The Rock has rolled out a smart new app that can help more visitors find their way around than an entire police force.

I

ndeed, probably for the first time in history, Gibraltar is being talked about for its app, not its apes – and Key2Gib is so simple, even a monkey could use it!

Free to download, this instant internet tool will ‘unlock the Gibraltar experience’ for 12 million yearly visitors and come in handy for the territory’s 30,000 residents, too.

What’s the weather like? How long’s the border queue? Is your flight home on time?

What’s on at the movies? When do the cable cars run? Key2Gib, your portable oracle, has all the answers at a glance without the need to open a map. Whether booking a restaurant table, checking out events or even planning your wedding, the information’s at your fingertips in a couple of clicks. Watch Gib TV, tune in to the local radio, share your experiences with the messaging option or connect with friends via key2gib’s Twitter account and Facebook page – you need never feel lost or alone.

Downloading this handy pocket guide from the iTunes app store or Google Play is simplicity itself. Just search for Key2Gib, or scan the QR code on one of the stands or posters located at key entry points and tourist offices (or on the flyers distributed to

5-STAR TESTIMONIALS MUST-HAVE TRAVEL COMPANION 

by Nursenancy67 Version 2.4 - Apr 20, 2013 Traveling there will be a breeze with this app. Love that I can communicate with others travelling to this cross-cultural community!

MADE MY TRIP! 

by USAtraveller989 Version 2.2 - Feb 19, 2013 Gorgeous pictures and accurate geotags! If I had a business in Gibraltar I would be in contact with you straight away!

USEFUL AND EASY 

by Downloader5555 Version 2.1 - Jan 26, 2013 Loved the app, thought it was easy to use as well as it being free which is always a bonus!

visitors); locate a wifi hotspot or use your 3G and you’re in business!

For advertisers, too, Key2Gib is a no-brainer; the competitive tariff allows you to build your own package which can include a description, contact details, photo gallery, direct website link or Geo Tagging, giving users door-to-door directions.

Incredibly, Key2Gib is not the brainchild of Apple boffins but the invention of eight Gibraltarian schoolgirls! They entered their idea as a project for the UK’s 2012 Young Enterprise competition, developing the app during their A-Level exam year with the help of three business gurus. Five of the students chose to continue the business and, together with their mentors, formed the private limited company, Develop I.T.. Although they’re not drawing salaries – yet – they’re all company directors; a nice one for their CVs and university applications and a head start for their careers!

Still a work in progress, updates are uploaded almost daily with new Doing Business and Getting Married in Gibraltar sections recently added, both proving very popular with advertisers.

“Gibraltar is small enough to package into one neat app and we’ve already recorded 2,700 unique downloads from as far afield as Australia and America,” says Finance Director Davina Palmero, who has a day job as Business Development Manager at Hambros Bank. “We’ve had amazing feedback, even from people unfamiliar with technology, including one client who thought we were

trying to sell him an ape!”

Success didn’t come without sacrifice. “It was such unfamiliar territory, there were times we felt like giving up,” says Zian Fabre who, at 18, has the grandiose title of Social Networking Director. “We had no idea how long it takes to get approval for an app from Apple or the thousands of pounds it can cost to develop one.”

Fortunately they found a friend in IT wizard Alan Pereira, the only male director in the team, who developed the app at a heavily subsidised rate to help the students advance their Young Enterprise project.

Since the girls mainly dealt with him via speaker phone during the development stage, he’s now known affectionately as ‘Charlie’ by his seven co-director ‘Angels’.

Every director brings a different skills set to the table. “Our Media and PR Director, Molly McElwee, is an aspiring journalist, for example, so she’s getting plenty of hands-on training,” says Client Acquisition Director Katrina Díaz, who has two children (and a third on the way) also making demands on her time. “The tourist board have given us huge support in getting the necessary advertising permissions and we’re shortly starting a campaign on the back of Gibraltar’s buses.”

A brilliant extra touch is Key2Gib’s Yanito dictionary. With this handy guide to the Gibraltarian dialect, a mixture of Spanish and English with a local twist, you’ll soon be ‘vacilando el quecaro’. That’s Yanito for showing off! i www.key2gib.com

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Unlock Your Gibraltar Experience

WANT TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR VISIT TO GIBRALTAR? DOWNLOAD

KEY2GIB GIBRALTAR’S FIRST

FREE APP

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THE LEISURE travel

Gibraltar

Sure, every job has its interruptions. Those little disturbances that temporarily stop you in your tracks. If it’s not technology throwing a tantrum, it’s a colleague doing the same, and there are occasions we all just have to stop what we’re doing and bide our time until we can get back to work. There aren’t many of us, however, for whom one such disruption is a Barbary macaque throwing itself at our windscreen.

Rock Tours

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WORDS AMY Williams Photography Jon Segui

I

’m talking to Hedley Trico, driver for Parody Tours, and a Rock Tour guide for 20 years, and he’s telling me the tours are all about the apes.

“Everyone is dying to see them,” he says, “As soon as the first one appears, I just have to stop talking.

The ape takes over and no-one is listening to what I’m saying any more.”

Tourism, one of the four main pillars of Gibraltar’s economy, is thriving, and with a significant number of the millions of tourists who come to visit Gibraltar every year either disembarking a cruise ship, or crossing the border on a day trip from Spain, quite often the must-see sights have to be visited in just

a matter of hours. Step up the fleet of Gibraltar’s Rock Tours, guaranteeing you a one-stop shop for sightseeing on a tight schedule. But while many of us will have possibly already taken the tour, what’s it really like for those behind the wheel?

One of a number of experienced guides who have gained vital knowledge of everything from Gibraltar’s history and mystery, to its flora and fauna, and not to mention where to take the best photographs, Hedley tells me that you have to be prepared for anything. “Why do people hang washing from their windows?”, was one unexpected question that sticks in his mind, along

with “Who made the Rock?”, but perhaps the time he was most taken aback was when one of his party noticed a right-hand drive military vehicle and asked him whether it didn’t cause problems, having the tour buses drive on one side of the road, and the military traffic on the other...

Dealing with the occasional ill thought-out bluster aside, the guides have to be quite the ambassadors for Gibraltar, fielding questions on everything from politics to property prices and tax, to the situation with Spain. “Sometimes it feels like people are really testing you,” Hedley says, “particularly the Americans. They ask a lot

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of questions.” He wouldn’t change it though, he adds, as the more questions people ask, the more it shows they’re interested.

The Rock Tours come in a range of packages.

The taxis, for example, offer the complete tour comprising Europa Point, 100 Ton Gun, the Pillars Of Hercules, St Michael’s Cave, the Apes Den, the Great Siege Tunnels and the Moorish Castle.

The stops on the buses are more limited, and then there’s the option of taking the cable car halfway and picking up onward transport from there, or even doing a specialist tour such as the Panoramic Gibraltar & English Tea tour. “There’s something for everyone and every agenda,” Hedley says, “and from a practical point of view, it means that the tourist traffic is going in different directions and not all congesting along the same route.”

Wanting the lowdown on the highlights of the Rock, I ask Hedley to tell me what really captures people’s imaginations during the tour. Starting with Europa Point, he says what strikes most tourists is just how close Africa is and how clearly, on a good day, you can make out the details of the coastline and Jebel Musa. On a bad day, “If the visibility is particularly poor, I just have to say to them, I promise you, it was there yesterday...”.

The Pillars Of Hercules take the unsuspecting tourist by surprise too, Hedley tells me, as a lot of people don’t realise that Gibraltar represents the northern of the pair. “People love legends,” he says, “and the enduring explanation given by the Greeks of the Strait being the result of Hercules tearing the two continents asunder ignites the imagination.”

The 100 ton gun is actually 100.2 tons (but I guess that has less of a ring to it); the Moorish Castle is one of the oldest buildings in Gibraltar; the Siege Tunnels are such an incredible feat of

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engineering that they served as inspiration for all future tunnels; and St Michael’s Cave is so vast that it led the Romans to believe that the entire Rock was hollow, earning it the name Calpe, literally meaning ‘hollow’. The believed-to-be bottomless cave, it has been rumoured, links up with Africa via a passage under the Strait, a theory supported by the disappearance of two military officers in 1840 who descended into the cave and never came back and neither, in spite of exhaustive searches, was any trace of them ever found... For Hedley, one of the perks of driving the buses up to the concerts which are regularly held in the cave is the complimentary tickets he receives. “The sound in St Michael’s Cave is incredible,” he says, recalling one occasion when the Vienna Boys Choir visited and performed with just an upright piano and no amplification.

And of course, on to the star attraction, the Apes Den. “I never miss an ape,” Hedley says proudly, adding, “They’re lovely, but not to be trusted.” I assume he means the likelihood of one of them

thieving your crisps, or worse, your camera, but no, “They’re wild animals,” he says. “They will bite you if they feel threatened.” The respect the guides have for the apes, and the responsibility they feel for the parties they take to see them, is clear, but that’s not to say the guides aren’t canny when it comes to encouraging an ape to take its place on a tourist’s shoulder for that all-important photo. Peanuts, it seems, will secure just such a shot. Hedley says you do get to know a few of the apes over time; one aged female in particular he has affectionately named ‘Queen Victoria’.

It’s clear what’s in it for the tourists and the apes, but what do the guides themselves like most about the job? “For me, it’s meeting people,” says Hedley. “One of the best tours I took was a group of Israeli tourists. Israel had just won the Eurovision Song Contest and everyone was in high spirits, singing as we went. There was a translator on board as the group didn’t speak any English, and at one point they were trying to marry us off! It was a fun one.” He also recalls an Irish couple he met,

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who turned out to be distantly related to Gibraltar’s Bishop Fitzgerald and who were looking to find the Bishop’s tomb. He helped them to locate it, and on finding out that Hedley himself was due to visit Dublin a couple of weeks later, the couple insisted they exchange details. He did indeed call them when he arrived in Ireland and, somewhat of a busman’s holiday – literally, was given an excellent tour of the city in return.

“The guy,” he says, “was a fantastic guide!” “I do get invited a lot of places around the world,” Hedley adds.

Unable to really give me any negatives, it’s only when pushed that Hedley says probably the worst part of the job is the waiting around, in particular when he used to work from the port, and the ships could be delayed by a couple of hours. During a busy period though, the chance for a break would be a fine thing, as full time guides can be taking three to four tours a day. “It can be a very tough job” he says.

As for the current climate in terms of tourism, Hedley relays that there was a slight downturn during the worst of the crisis, but that it was never significant and it is more than healthy again now. Certainly, a walk down Main Street when one, or several, ships are in will suggest there’s no shortage of visitors to the Rock. “Even the American tourists, the numbers of whom declined post 9/11, are coming back to Gibraltar now, but in the main, the nationalities who visit the most are German, English and French.”

Tourism does indeed play a key part in Gibraltar’s economy. Where once the military constituted the greater part of the Rock’s revenue, since the border opened and the tourists began to arrive in greater and greater numbers, Gibraltar has thrived.

Of course, there are those independent, freespirited travelling types who turn their noses up at doing the ‘tourist’ thing. For them, the heart and soul of travelling lies in aimlessly wandering off the beaten track. Well, have fun finding yourself on the mountaintop, in the temple, or watching the sun come up over your camp in a jungle clearing, but if you want to get to the very heart of what makes this particular territory tick, with guides who are the best in the business, book yourself in with a Rock Tour. g For more information on all Coach and

Taxi Tours, contact the Gibraltar Tourist Board on Tel: +350 200 74950. www.visitgibraltar.gi

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gour

RESTAURANTS / REVIEWS / NEWS / WINE / CHEFS / GUIDE

Summer time spells one thing when it comes to food: dining out! We take you to one of Gibraltar’s most revered dining venues, The Yellow House. We also sample exciting organic wine by Jean Leon and sip a glass or two of Ibiza wines.

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The Yellow House

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THE GOURMET restaurant

The Yellow House

At its discreet location in Parliament Lane, The Yellow House is perhaps a little off Gibraltar’s restaurant radar; and it is no less geographically independent of its culinary counterparts than it is in the menu it offers. For this cosy, traditionally Spanish restaurant is the missing piece of the puzzle in Gibraltar’s multicultural cuisine.

It is Spanish fare at its finest.

SPANISH FLAVOUR IN GIBRALTAR WORDS AMY WILLIAMS PHOTOGRAPHY JON SEGUI

T

he prices which previously put the casual diner off The Yellow House have been lowered by the new management to bring its delicious dishes within budget, whether it’s a bite to eat during the working week, a long lunch, a business meeting, or a relaxed evening meal, with the emphasis being on the quality for which it has always been famed.

With its finca-feel and rustic appeal, The Yellow House charms you on arrival. Beautifully designed with open brickwork, wooden panelling, arches and pillars which divide the restaurant organically into one large and one smaller area, the ambience is warm and intimate. The solid wooden tables are laid neatly with woven table mats on top of yellow, cotton runners, and the place is impeccably clean.

The kitchen is on full view from the restaurant, and the delicate crackling of the open fire completes the scene.

The menu confirms the authenticity of the place. It’s fair to say that in the majority of Gibraltar’s eateries, scrambled eggs are most likely to appear as a component of an English Breakfast, but in The Yellow House, totally typical of Spanish tastes, they’re an entree to the evening meal. So is a platter of Iberian ham, a dish of prawn pil pil and a number of other Spanish specialities. The menu is good and varied but, as owner and head chef Paco explains, not overwhelming. He says he doesn’t like extensive menus because if a menu is too long, you can forget what you’ve seen at the start by the time you’ve read all the way through.

The Yellow House menu, broken down into a good

selection of starters, seafoods, meats, salads, vegetables and pastas, may be easier to ponder, but the choice available makes it no less difficult to decide...

We started with an abundant order of fresh clams ‘chirlas’ in a garlic and white wine sauce, an equally generous portion of spinach and prawn tortillitas, the prawn pil pil which were so meaty there was a comparison with lobster, and the broken eggs which came with Iberian ham, potato and pepper and which, according to our waitress, is always a very popular choice.

Moving on to the main courses, we chose a chicken neopolitana, baked grouper fish with clams and prawns in a pernod and tomato sauce, BBQ spare ribs and, from the specials, salmon stuffed with prawns and spinach in a goat’s cheese sauce, each accompanied with a mix of vegetables and a couple of inch-thick slices of potato. All were flavoursome, hearty dishes, and our heads were only momentarily turned (largely led by our noses) by one of the immense platters of meat ordered by a neighbouring table. There is nothing ‘fusion’ or fussy about the meals at The Yellow House, it is good food, big portions, and even bigger taste.

Paco tells us that the stuffed salmon we have just enjoyed is his favourite dish to cook. Despite being offered as a special it is always available, he explains. He simply lists it as a special in order to draw people’s attention to it in particular, as it really is ‘special’. I have to say I agree with him.

Spanish right down to the cellar, The Yellow House has its own cellar beneath the restaurant,

and a cleverly inserted glass panel in the floor allows you to peer down onto the bottle necks poking out. It holds an extraordinary selection of some 600 wines, with something to suit everyone from connoisseurs to the casual consumer. On the waitress’s recommendation however, we opt for the house red which she tells us is very good.

It’s a rich and robust 2009 Corona de Aragon Old Vine Garnacha, scoring an 89 on the rating system introduced by Robert Parker (a wine is considered ‘above average’ or ‘good’ if it scores 85 points or more).

Despite deciding that we’ve all eaten so well that we couldn’t possibly manage a dessert, we ask for the choices anyway, with the intention of perhaps just selecting one between us. Thirty seconds later, we’ve all forgotten our former satiation and have ordered carrot cake, rum brownie, chocolate cake, and a honey and vanilla cheesecake. They are large, lavishly decorated, and see us finish the meal on a sugar high.

Throughout our relaxed evening, we were looked after expertly by our friendly and professional waitress. She shares Paco’s passion for the food and his enthusiasm for The Yellow House, and her attention to detail, to us, and to every other table in the restaurant was a real feature of the evening.

If you haven’t yet been to The Yellow House, then turn off Main Street and give it a try. g Open Monday to Saturday from 12:30pm to 3:30pm and 8pm to 11pm for lunch and dinner. Closed Sundays.

Parliament Lane, Gibraltar. Tel: +350 200 48148.

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THE GOURMET wine

Jean Leon 3055

Organic and fresh wines

From Santander to Hollywood…

Words Rocio Corrales, Anglo Hispano Photography Courtesy of Jean Leon

Wines normally have a story behind them, some more interesting than others, but this story merits being told...

C

eferino Carrión was an ordinary boy from the North of Spain who lived in Santander. His family home was destroyed in the fire of 1941 in Santander, so he moved to Barcelona.

His father and older brother died in World War II after being torpedoed by mistake during a sea voyage. However, despite life’s difficulties, the young Ceferino always dreamt of travelling and discovering the world. So one fine morning, at the tender age of 19, with his suitcase packed and hardly any money, he set out on the long and difficult journey that took him first to Paris and then, as a stowaway on a merchant ship, to New York. Ceferino headed west across the United States, finally arriving in Hollywood, the city where his luck would finally start to change.

After signing up for military service, he changed his name and, from that moment on, began to call himself Jean Leon. He would sign León with an accent to give it a Spanish touch and this brand became his wine label.

The number 3055 was his plate number later working as a taxi driver in New York.

One lucky day, he found work at the Villa Capri restaurant, which was owned by actor Frank Sinatra and Joe di Maggio. This allowed him to become friends with many of the actors that frequented the restaurant, including Natalie Wood, Grace Kelly and James Dean. The place became fashionable among Hollywood stars and following the death of Dean, Leon became the sole host. After he had become well known and respected in culinary circles throughout the States, Jean Leon embarked on his second great adventure. This was the creation of a wine that would carry his name.

He travelled all over the world looking for the ideal estate, until one day he arrived in Catalonia and there, in the heart of the Penedès, he found what he was looking for. In 1962, Jean Leon acquired the best plots of land in the region and set up the Jean Leon Pago, where he was a pioneer in planting Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay.

Struck by a serious illness and before departing alone on his boat, La Scala di Mare, Jean Leon appointed his close friend, Miguel Torres to carry on with his legacy. Sailing until the last days of his life was his own way of saying goodbye to a world that had allowed him to experience so many emotions.

In 1981, Ronald Reagan chose Jean Leon wine for his inauguration party. Initially, the wine was destined for the American market, but in 1983 it was made available in Spain.

The city of Santander honoured him by dedicating a street to his name. He was also known as the King of Beverly Hills by others.

The Jean Leon 3055 Chardonnay and Rosé are both organic wines and are among my top recommendations for the summer, not only because of their delicious taste but also because of the design and image of the bottle. It is a great gift to bring to a dinner party as its recipients will always remember you! The Chardonnay is a bright, fresh and fruity wine for a modern palate. After fermentation, this wine is partially aged for two months in French oak barrels, resulting in a subtle, pleasant touch of oak aftertaste. It also contains high-intensity notes of tropical fruit (pineapple, mango and papaya).

This wine allows for an interesting combination with tapas, such as clams, razor shells, cockles, squid or octopus. It is also a good accompaniment for fish such as sardines, grilled sole or hake in a light sauce.

The sexy and elegant Rosé is made from Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, characterised with a pale shade of salmon pink and stands out for its immense freshness, pronounced notes of red fruit (strawberries combined with peach and banana) and long aftertaste.

It pairs perfectly with traditional Spanish tapas, appetisers and cured meats as well as certain vegetable and pasta dishes, fresh cheeses, roasted and white meat.

g Both wines are available at Anglo Hispano Ltd.

5/7, Main Street, Gibraltar. Tel: +350 200 77210. www.anglo.gi / www.jeanleon.com

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Warming Hospitality for your Summer Barbeque

convenient parking is available nearby

Stylish-Unique-Elegant

Located in the heart of Queensway Quay Marina serving the finest local and international cuisine

..................................................................................................................................

4/5 Ragged Staff Wharf, Queensway Quay, Gibraltar Tel: (+350) 200 45666 - Fax: (+350) 200 45665 waterfrontrestaurant@gmail.com | www.gibwaterfront.com Open daily from 9 am till late Waterfront Restaurant Gibraltar

@waterfrontgib

THE GOURMET wine

Baleares WORDS AJ LINN

WINES FROM THE

Visitors to the Balearic Islands in the 1970s/80s cannot fail to recall how dismal the wines were. Not exactly bad, just characterless, and it is not surprising that in those far-off days most people preferred the mainland produce. Back then, local wineries did not necessarily consider winemaking as commercial, vines usually being incidental to livestock farming.

I

t all really began in the early ‘90s when, with increased knowledge and improved techniques, winemakers could compete with other regions.

Sons and daughters of bodega owners started studying winemaking abroad. Very astutely, producers concentrated on quality at a fair price and, if comparisons are made currently with other Spanish regions, Baleares wines are among the best on the price/quality scale. There is a marked preference for the native varieties, principally Moll, Malvasia and Prensal for white wines and Manto Negro, Callet and Fogoneu for reds Winemaking started on the Islands around 700BC, and later, under Roman rule, Pliny wrote, “Balearic wines can be compared with Italy’s best”. In 1800, when phylloxera-ravaged France could not supply its citizens, every drop of Baleares wine was shipped to France. The arrival of the same disease on the Islands put a stop to this, and, as in other parts of Spain, it took a massive effort to get wine back on the menu again.

Mallorca wines are very good indeed.

Formentera and Menorca can more than hold their own, and Ibiza, although with minuscule production, acquits itself with merit. Leaving aside a couple of large wineries in Mallorca, the rest are small family-run bodegas that sell all they make.

There are some local quirks though, such as the tendency to use Mallorquín instead of Spanish on the labels, together with an unusual lack of clarity when it comes to revealing the types of grape used.

There are also charming little bodegas like Finca Biniagual, once a deserted hamlet acquired by a German family, and now making award-winning wines. Actually much of the wine produced in the Baleares is exported to Germany, no doubt being in some way influenced by the large number of Germans who visit the Islands and/or have holiday homes there.

It is doubtful if Ibiza’s partygoers spend much time delving into the history of the Island, much less bothering themselves with finding out what the local wine tastes like. The bars and restaurants that cater for the huge influx of electronic dance music fans, or the clubs like Amnesia or Es Paradis, have no time for the Island’s other best product.

Not that anyone minds. There are three principal wineries in Ibiza, and two of these are under one ownership. They sell all they produce without getting out of bed. It was only a decade ago when Ibiza wine was officially classified Vino de la tierra Ibiza (1996), amended in 2003 to allow the local grape varieties to be blended with imported varieties, that production got into top gear. The area of San Antonio de Portmany is where it all happens.

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Quality is the first consideration, and traditional production methods are followed. The Can Rich bodegas make good reds with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and white Chardonnays. The Tinto Selección Can Rich at around €9 is excellent value. Sister winery Can Maymó has a range of reds from €7 € to €9, with a white and a rosado at €6.

To keep up traditions (shame more bodegas don’t take the same trouble), they sell wine on draught to locals at the bodega door. The Fiesta del Vino Sant Mateu is celebrated every December when the year’s new wine is presented.

Menorca was a huge wine-producer during the English occupation, and in the 19th century many sailing ships provisioned there. When the occupation ended, wine production plummeted and the phylloxera plague put a complete end to Menorca wine, but fortunately recovery has been complete. Binifadet is a reliable producer with a good Merlot Reserva and two cavas.

In Formentera, winemaking is an important part of the economy, in spite of having only 60 hectares of vines.

Because of the very low rainfall, only reds and rosados are made, both with high alcohol levels. Terramoll is the bodega of reference, and its Es Monestir is remarkable.

The Baleares as a whole are big on liquors, each island having its own speciality. Mallorca has its Palo Mallorquín, Menorca its famous Gin Xoriguer, no doubt influenced by the English occupation with a recipe that has not varied in two centuries. Hierbas Ibicencas is the generic term for what would be referred to on the mainland as orujo de hierbas, consisting of various plants macerated in local anis.

The story goes that these distillations were originally made for medicinal purposes, since, lacking conventional medication, they were the only way to combat the epidemics that swept through the islands regularly, no doubt brought by the boats that landed at their ports. g Most of these products can be bought direct from the bodegas.

6/28/13 12:22 PM

theguide restaurant LISTING / What’s on

RESTAURANTS/bars All’s Well Bar & Restaurant

Bruno’s

Casa Pepe

El Pulpero

Unit 4, Casemates Square, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 72987

Unit 3, Trade Winds, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 68444

Unit 18, Queensway Quay Marina, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 46967

Unit 12A Watergardens, Waterport, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 44786

Amar’s Bakery and Coffee Shop

Cafe Rojo

Champion’s Planet Bar & Grill

4 Stagioni

1 Convent Place, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 73516

54 Irish Town, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 51738

Unit 2B, The Tower, Marina Bay, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 46668

16/18 Saluting Battery, Rosia Road, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 79153

Bianca’s

Cafe Solo

Charlie’s Steakhouse & Grill

Gallo Nero

6/7 Admiral’s Walk, Marina Bay, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 73379

Grand Casemates Square 3, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 44449

4/5 Britannia House, Marina Bay, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 69993

56/58 Irish Town, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 77832

Bistro Madeleine

Cannon Bar

Corks Wine Bar

Gatsby’s

256 Main Street, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 65696

27 Cannon Lane, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 77288

79 Irish Town, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 75566

1 /3 Watergardens 1, Waterport Ave, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 76291

Bridge Bar & Grill

Casa Brachette

El Patio

Gibraltar Arms

Leisure Island, Ocean Village, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 66446

9 Chatham Counterguard, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 48200

Unit 11, Casemates Square, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 40713

184 Main Street, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 72133

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Ipanema

Le Bateau

Restaurante Nunos Italiano

The Clipper

Unit 11, Ocean Village Promenade, Gibraltar. Tel: +350 216 48888

14 Ragged Staff Wharf, Queensway Quay, Gibraltar. Tel: +350 200 66420

78 Irish Town, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 79791

Jumpers Wheel Restaurant

Lek Bangkok

Caleta Hotel, Sir Herbert Miles Road, Catalan Bay, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 76501

20 Rosia Road, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 40052

Unit 50 1/3, Block 5, Eurotowers, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 48881

Rooftop Bistro, O’Callaghan Eliott Hotel

21B The Promenade, Ocean Village, Gibraltar. Tel: +350 200 67889

Jury’s Cafe & Wine Bar

Little Rock Restaurant & Bar Casemates Square, Gibraltar Tel +350 200 51977

Governor’s Parade, Gibraltar +350 200 70500

The Landings Restaurant

275 Main Street, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 67898

Khan’s

Maharaja Indian Restaurant

7/8 Watergardens, Waterport , Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 50015

5 Tuckey’s Lane, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 50733

Kowloon Restaurant

Mamma Mia

20 Watergardens III, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 42771

Unit C, Boyd Street, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 64444

La Mamela

Mons calpe suite

Sir Herbert Miles Road, Catalan Bay, Gibraltar. Tel: +350 200 72373

Top of The Rock, Gibraltar.

Tel: +350 200 79478

Latino’s Diner

O’Reilly’s

194/196 Main Street, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 46660

Leisure Island, Ocean Village, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 67888

Latinos Music Bar and Restaurant

Piccadilly Garden Bar

9 Casemates Square, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 47755

La Parrilla 17/18 Watergardens, Block 6, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 66555

Laziz Sail 2.2, Ocean Village Marina, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 40971

3B Rosia Rd, Gibraltar Tel. +350 200 75758

Roy’s Cod Place 2/2 Watergate House, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 76662

15 Ragged Staff Wharf, Queensway Quay, Gibraltar. Tel: +350 200 66100

The Rock Hotel Restaurant

57 Irish Town, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 70625

Europa Road, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 73000x The Royal Calpe, 176 Main Street. Tel: +350 200 75890

Seawave Bar

The Trafalgar Bar

60 Catalan Bay Village, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 78739

1a Rosia Road, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 45370

Solo Bar & Grill

The Waterfront

Unit 15, 4 Eurotowers, Europort Avenue, Gibraltar. Tel: +350 200 62828

4/5 Ragged Staff Wharf, Queensway Quay, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 45666

Sacarello’s Cafe-Restaurant

Taps Bar 5 Ocean Village Promenade, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 67575

Pizza Express

Theatre Royal Bar & Restaurant

Unit 17, Ocean Village, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 50050

60 Governor’s Street, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 51614

Pizzaghetti

The Chargrill Restaurant at Gala Casino

1008 Eurotowers, Europort Avenue, Gibraltar. Tel: +350 200 63868

The Cuban

Gala Casino, Ocean Village, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 76666

Tunnel Bar Restaurant Casemates Square, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 44878

Verdi Verdi Unit G10, International Commercial Centre, Main Street, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 60733

Yellow House Parliament Lane, Gibraltar +350 200 48148/48248

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