Gibraltar Insight™ December 2019

DECEMBER 2019

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DECEMBER 2019

Take Me

THE ROCK’S LONGEST RUNNING MAGAZINE

I’M YOURS

GIBRALTAR INSIGHT FREE COPY

GIBRALTARINSIGHT.COM

@GBZInsight

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D E CE M B E R ISSUE 43

Contents

20

30

Business Insight

52

25

CRIME & ACCOMPLISHMENT

38

IT’S CHRISTMAS – TIME TO SELL, SELL, SELL!

12

BUSINESS NEWS

48

READY TO STAND?

19

BUSINESS PROFILE: PETER HOWITT

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SEARCHING FOR SANTA

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STEVEN MASCARENHAS – GIBRALTAR’S REGGAE AMBASSADOR

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JOHN VICTOR – STILL BLOWING SWEETLY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS – PART 2

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CHRISTMAS MUSIC IS A MONEY SPINNER

Sports Insight 29

DON’T LET THE BUMPS ON THE ROAD UPSET THE ROCK’S FOOTY JOURNEY

30 A LOOK BACK AT 2019, A GREAT SPORTING YEAR

Football Insight 33

LYNX FC FUTSAL – PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

Forces Insight 45

ARMED FORCES NEWS

History Insight 58

A VICTORIA CROSS HOLDER IN GIBRALTAR

Features 20 LITERARY FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS 22 6

Regular Features 10

COMMUNITY INSIGHT

34

GOLF NEWS

36

TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT – CHRISTMAS TECH GIFT IDEAS 2019

45

ARMED FORCES INSIGHT

56

MOTORING INSIGHT

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VET COLUMN – A PET IS FOR LIFE – NOT FOR CHRISTMAS

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AT THE MOVIES

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ON THE SPOT: JOHN CHARLES GUY

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MUM ON THE ROCK – RESPECTING YOUR CHILD’S PERSONAL SPACE

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HEALTH & WELLBEING INSIGHT

84

HOROSCOPES

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MAMA LOTTIES RECIPE

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WEDDING INSIGHT

90 COHEN & MASSIAS CROSSWORD

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Gibraltar Insight Deputy Editor: Jean King

Gibraltar Insight - the Rock’s longest running magazine.

Production: Billy Couper

Published by GBZ Media Limited, 5 Governor’s Lane, Gibraltar GX11 1AA.

Accounts & Administration: Rosemary Salah-El-Din Advertising & Marketing: Emma Wood

Printed by Roca Graphics Limited, 21 Tuckey’s Lane, Gibraltar GX11 1AA

Production Assistant: Steven King Superyacht Owners’ Guide Managing Editor: Sophie Blake

Copyright 2019. All rights reserved.

Creative Director: Ben Lewis

The names Gibraltar Insight, Bermuda Insight, Mum On The Rock, SYOG, Superyacht Owners’ Guide & GBZ Media are marks of GBZ Media (Overseas) Limited, used under exclusive licence. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.

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Gibraltar Insight places great importance on the accuracy of the information contained within this publication, but cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions. Views expressed by contributors and/or correspondents do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. Neither Gibraltar Insight nor GBZ Media Limited is responsible for any claims made, or material(s) used, in advertisements.

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Photo: Elliott Howe

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COMMUNITY INSIGHT

TEARS OF JOY INSIGHT GOT THE LOW DOWN AND CAUGHT UP WITH DIRECTOR MELISSA HALES HOW DID THE CHOIR COME TO BE?

We usually rehearse once a week, however when we get nearer to show dates, rehearsals increase to 2-3 times a week. We have standard rehearsals for the main choir, plus extra sessions for vocalists/soloists, or smaller group pieces. Although it is hard to maintain the balance of work and family life, it does help that my own two children enjoy choir as much as I do, so they’re very much involved in our performances and shows with me.

The Tears of Joy Choir was founded in 1997 when I conducted the Westside School Choir as part of my Music A-Level. The chaplain heard the choir and asked if they could perform some special masses at church. This inspired me to start Christmas church concerts, in aid of different charities. During and after university (studying popular music and education) I continued rehearsing and putting on charity shows with the choir.

The Christmas show is the hardest as it is such a busy time of year for everyone. However, the choir started in church with Christmas shows, so every few years we like to revisit this tradition.

We travelled to Rome for an audience with the late John Paul II, where we performed in various churches and ceremonies. We also went to Mother Theresa’s Home in Setubal, Portugal as volunteers to help with the children at the home, which was one of the best and eye-opening experiences we’ve had as a group.

WHY DO YOU DO IT? I have continued the choir all these years and hopefully for many more because we do not represent ourselves as a competitive group nor do we strive for trophies or titles; our fulfilment comes from helping those in need. Our sole purpose is to raise as much funds and awareness for different charitable organizations as possible. This makes the choir enjoy their time together in rehearsals and performances. We are united in our goal to give joy to others through music.

As long as there is a need for fundraising or creating awareness, we will continue with our charity work.

WHAT SORT OF MUSIC DOES THE CHOIR COVER? The choir tries to remain as musically eclectic as possible. Although we started by doing charity concerts at church mostly consisting of hymns, Christmas carols and Gospel (which is our forte), we have during the years performed for many different organizations and clubs and so are versatile, covering pop, rock, Motown, soul and much more. We like to be diverse, never shying away from new genres or the opportunity to sing in different styles, according to the particular audience or event. We are a largely female choir however male vocalists are always welcome, and this enables us to play around more with vocals and different songs.

HOW MANY MEMBERS ARE IN THE CHOIR? When Tears of Joy started we had about ten members and we were pleased to have since introduced of a junior section. At present, the adult choir has of fifteen and the juniors thirteen, so we twenty-eight in total. Having a large junior section means I have been able to incorporate different vocal structures and harmonies amongst the younger members too, which we are excited about. They all sound amazing.

DIRECTING A CHOIR OF THIS SCALE MUST BE A BIG COMMITMENT, HOW DO YOU JUGGLE THIS WITH WORK AND FAMILY LIFE? There have been many times, particularly when I had my two children when I doubted whether I could balance it all. What keeps me going is my members, some have been with me since the start. Everyone is so supportive of each other and we work very well together as a team. This is keeps us going during hardships, it’s like a second family.

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WHERE CAN WE SEE TEARS OF JOY IN ACTION? This year has been busy for us, with multiple charity performances, most recently singing for the Gibraltar Breast Cancer Candle Mass at the Cathedral, which we have done for many years. We also visited Mount Alvernia to sing and spend time with the residents.

At present, we are flat out preparing for our big Christmas Concert at St. Theresa’s Church on Monday 16 December 2019 at 8pm. Entry programmes are £5, in aid of Nazareth House, which is the charity chosen by Mgr. Charles Azzopardi. I am sure people will agree it’s an excellent cause, helping those who have less at Christmas. This show promises to re-invent what we have been known for doing in our Christmas Shows in the past, with visual representation of songs, a special surprise guest and brand-new songs adapted for the choir. We are confident it will be one of our best Christmas Shows to date and all for a very worthy cause. We hope to see you there!

CAN THE CHOIR BE HIRED? The choir can be hired for private events, (depending on time restraints between our charity events). Any paid events go towards our funding for future charity shows. We are a non-profit choir and depend largely on fundraising or local companies as sponsors to meet the costs that the shows incur, so that all funds raised from ticket sales go entirely to the charity.

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HOW CAN I JOIN THE CHOIR?

r the adult Should anyone want to join eithe contact the or the junior section they can melissa_hales@ choir Director via either email: book, teleFace on me find or .uk ail.co hotm current the of any via or 8, 2473 phone 540 do more commembers. We would love to with our junior bined performances together rating more section in 2020; and we are gene rs wantinterest for both adults and junio . ing to join as from January 2020 os: Interview by Sophie BlakePhot K Ruiz Photography

WORLD PANCREATIC CANCER DAY 2019 World Pancreatic Day 2019 was marked at Grand Battery this year and was very well attended by a cross-section of Gibraltar. Over 80 people were there to take in the moment and listen to speakers from the GHA and Cancer Relief Centre. The Hon. Minister of Culture, Dr. John Cortes, officially switched on the lights to flood Moorish Castle in purple.

Louis Baldachino, founder of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Charitable Trust, was pleased with the way the event went and commented, “Thank you for your support ... you are the ones who make a difference in people’s lives.”

CALPE HOUSE DONATION The North Atlantic Trust Company Limited (as Trustee of the Hope Charity Trust) recently presented the Trustees of Calpe House with a further donation of CHF10,000 (approx GBP 8,000). This brought the Hope Charity Trust support over the past two years to Calpe House to CHF50,000 (approx £38,000).

Charles Bottaro and Linda Smith represented the trustee praised the work of the Trustees of Calpe House for all their hard work over the past years in renovating the charity’s new premises in Norfolk Square, London.

The Chairman of Calpe House, Albert Poggio, on behalf of the Board of Directors/Trustees expressed sincere gratitude to the Hope Charity Trust for their generous donations and continued support. He went on to thank all sponsors and supporters of Calpe House, it is this support that has made Calpe House Gibraltar’s special “home from home”.

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BUSINESS INSIGHT

OECD GLOBAL FORUM Gibraltar was represented at the 10th Anniversary Meeting of the Global Forum of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo QC MP attended along with Financial Secretary Albert Mena, Commissioner for Income Tax, John Lester and Finance Centre Director, Jimmy Tipping.

Mr Picardo said, “Gibraltar has been working with the OECD for more than a decade. I attended the meeting of the OECD in Berlin in 2014 when Gibraltar became a signatory to the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance, which I signed as Minister for Finance.

Our signature of that instrument has put us in a good place to show the world that Gibraltar is a compliant jurisdiction

CROSS-FRONTIER CO-OPERATION

and one that maintains the highest standards of regulation and exchange of information. That really helps to put in context the nonsensical attacks we suffer from some who suggest that Gibraltar is somehow not at the forefront of international cooperation. I am very clear that the only business model that will work in future is one based on compliance and transparency.

As the world changes and becomes more and more digital and globalised, and data is more easily searched and mined, there will be no real or legitimate business to be done in pretending to assist people to hide money from other tax authorities. My presence at this important meeting of the OECD sends that signal and has also enabled me to meet the Ministers of Finance and Exchange of Information of many other countries in the world.”

CIVIL SERVICE REFORM MEETINGS BEGIN

The President of the Mancomunidad de Municipios of the Campo de Gibraltar Juan Lozano (PSOE Algeciras), visited the Chief Minister Fabian Picardo at No 6 Convent Place recently.

The anticipated reform of Gibraltar’s civil service has taken another step forward, with Chief Secretary Darren Grech initiating meetings with the trade unions concerned.

The Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia was also present.

It’s anticipated that these preliminary discussions will focus on the over-arching vision and the programme of management reform.

Among the topics on the table were Brexit, the Frontier, waste disposal and other areas of mutual interest. The Chief Minister also hosted Mr Lozano to a working lunch.

GIBRALTARINSIGHT.COM

An HMGoG spokesperson said that the Government is committed to work with Unite, the GGCA and other stakeholders to deliver enhanced public services.

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PROFILE

Peter Howitt Founding partner and Managing Director of law firm Ince Gibraltar Peter Howitt was born in Dumbarton, Scotland but having left there at the age of two years old, going on to attend 27 schools in the UK, it is hardly surprising that there is no trace of a Scottish accent. “I’ve lived in most parts of England so I think you could say that I’ve had a fairly peripatetic life,” Peter says.

Going to so many different schools must have had an effect on Peter as a child. “It made me quite resilient, arriving somewhere new and just getting on with it – always the ‘new boy’ – and some schools were rougher than others so it wasn’t an easy ride,” he states, going on to say that it has been helpful in making him adaptable and able to roll with whatever life throws at him.

At the age of 13 Peter went to live with his Aunt and Uncle in a stable environment that enabled him to knuckle down and do well in his academic work. “I always enjoyed learning, and I really liked poetry and literature, so I thought it would be nice to be a writer but I wanted a career where I would have the chance of earning a good income so I chose to do law and criminology when I went to university.”

After training in London for two years with a firm that was then acquired by Reed Smith, Peter came to Gibraltar in 2005 to work for PartyGaming before moving on to payments company and e-money institution Transact Network as their in-house lawyer, with a brief sojourn back to the UK in-between. “I had always worked in the fields of finance and technology, and combined with my passion for the arts I was inspired to create an online social community called Tailcast for artists, writers, photographers and musicians with an e-commerce element, but unfortunately it ran out of steam and I ran out of money, but I really enjoyed the project and met some interesting creative people through it.”

In a brave move, Peter founded Ramparts

PETER HOWITT PERSONALITY INSIGHT: What makes you happy? Spending time with my wife Elizabeth and son Hector What makes you sad? When people in power aren’t held to account Biggest fear: Not being a good father Best place that you have visited in the world: Luang Prabang, Laos Best thing about Gibraltar: The feeling of safety Most valuable possession: My library of hardback books Hobbies: Yoga and mountain biking Favourite Author: Wilfred Owen, one of the leading poets of the First World War Favourite Film: Schindler’s List Favourite Food: Poached Eggs Greatest Achievement: Starting a business that has grown into a success Regrets? I would have liked to study philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford or Cambridge Something that nobody generally knows about you: My father was a timeshare salesman Motto: Live your life with courage European Law Firm in Gibraltar 2012. “I wanted a career which would act as a safety net and allow me to take some risks, which is why I chose law,” Peter explains.

“So when I set up Ramparts, it was really because I thought I could do a job that I seemed to be good at, so it didn’t really feel like a big risk.” It was the realisation that having multiple clients would actually be safer and would bring more interesting work that spurred Peter on, and combined with a little bit of luck in attaining three clients very quickly through an introduction

by a friend, it allowed him to build the business into what it has become today. “It’s all about timing because before that first introduction I was looking forward to spending three months on the beach!”

Earlier this year, Ramparts was acquired by Ince Gordon Dadds and the business now has a complement of sixteen people working in various sectors, including the recent appointments of Partner Anne Rose who will head up the Shipping side of the practice, and Senior Associate Fiona Young.

The two core areas of business for Ince at the moment are the law firm and the fiduciary side. “We don’t do Trust Services, but within the fiduciary we also offer accounting for clients if they wish and compliance services with Michelle Walsh,” Peter tells me, adding that the law firm side focuses on gaming, which is still a very strong area in Gibraltar. Ince also continues to focus on financial services, payments and cryptocurrency blockchain. “The payments sector has been as big a part of our success in the last seven years as gaming has, partly because of my previous experience as an inhouse lawyer at a payments company.”

Looking to the future, Peter says that he would be happy to grow both the legal side and the fiduciary side, focusing more on private clients and high net worth individuals, as well as managing and administering investment structures. “We really hope that Gibraltar is in a position to continue to grow, particularly in technology areas and especially as we are a very technology focused business - and we are also looking at the legalised cannabis area.” In that respect Ince has taken on a specialist lawyer in the UK, Robert Jappie.

Regarding Brexit, Peter uses the analogy of a market stall. “We all want to be able to promote Gibraltar and it is really hard to set up our stall in other places without knowing the answer to one of the most fundamental questions about whether we are within a legal and economic area or not, so certainty is what is needed.”

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BY RICHARD

BY JOCARTWRIGHT WARD GIBRALTARINSIGHT.COM

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FEATURE

The Seventh Gibunco Gibraltar International Literary Festival was held in November and once again welcomed an eclectic mix of authors and speakers to what is fast becoming a well-established fixture on the cultural calendar that has taken root and flourished year on year. Significant figures from the worlds of both fiction and non-fiction publishing delighted audiences as they spoke in some of Gibraltar’s most iconic and important venues; at the Garrison Library, the Convent, John Mackintosh Hall and the Gibraltar University.

Literary Festivals are a great way for authors to connect with readers, both those who have already read their books and for those who buy their books having heard them speak. Above all, there is huge pleasure in hearing an author you love speak about their work. There were many highlights and for those who weren’t able to attend, here is a roundup of just some of the events which enriched and inspired the attendees.

The first talk on the morning of Thursday 14th November offered a fast paced and interesting talk by the affable Dr. Julian Baggini, author of How the World Thinks: a global history of philosophy. The audience, including a large group of A level students, were led through many different philosophical traditions from Confucianism to the ancient Greeks and on to Japan, with which Dr. Baggini seems to have had a particular affinity for a society where harmony is not just cherry blossoms fading but simple human courtesy. “What’s foreground in one culture or tradition is background in another,” he told us. “Have we not been paying attention to social harmony?” he asked. “The UK and the USA have become polarised and fractious and Brexit has completely divided society.” Many of us left the talk with the thought that maybe we can learn from the rest of the world and borrow ideas that can expand our thinking.

The Garrison Library played host to Tito Benady and Richard Garcia who took us on a journey of 25 years of the Gibraltar Heritage Journal, from its initiation by the Friends of Gibraltar Heritage Society, who were at the time raising funds for the restoration of Gibraltar’s City Hall. The journal went on to become an annual publication and was championed by former Governor of Gibraltar, General Sir William Jackson, whom Tito Benady described as “a friend of Gibraltar when it wasn’t fashionable and we didn’t have many friends.”

Bringing us back up-to-date, journalist and broadcaster Gavin Esler discussed his book ‘Brexit without the Bullshit’ and the “normalisation of lying in public life.” He gave his opinion on what will happen after Brexit and dazzled us with some stunning facts about crop pickers “almost all our seasonal fruit and vegetable pickers are EU 27 workers, only about 1% are British” - about slaughterhouse vets - “only 5% of slaughterhouse vets are British; 95% come from the EU 27” - and about trade deals with the USA - “lobbyists are demanding that any future US-UK trade deal should include the dismantling of EU food standards. That would mean British supermarkets accepting not just chlorinated chicken but ractopamine in pork (a substance banned in the EU, banned in China, Russia, and most other developed countries).” Ultimately, Gavin Esler’s message is that facts and expertise actually do matter and remain important.

LITERARY FESTIVAL

HIGHLIGHTS

On the subject of food, but thankfully in a much more pleasant manner, two top chefs came to the Gibraltar Literary Festival, both in conversation with Donald Sloan from the Oxford Cultural Collective, talking about their work, hosting lunches and preparing the Opening and Closing Dinners.

Jeremy Lee, Chef Proprietor at Quo Vadis in Soho, is a warm and friendly character whose first cook book is due out next year. Jeremy, born in Dundee, explained how he was introduced to the joys of food and cooking from a young age by his mother who was a domestic science teacher and how he later went on to build his career alongside, amongst others, Terence Conran who he says was instrumental in the revitalisation of British cuisine. “It was at a time when British cooking had become a laughing stock internationally and we all bought into the fact that the best cuisine was French and Italian,” he told us, “but there

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FEATURE

was an awareness that British food was on the rise.” It was Jeremy’s dedication and interest in British cuisine that was partly responsible for shaping him into the chef he is today, and in a nod to those who helped his career flourish Jeremy devotes time to mentoring young chefs. Jeremy prepared lunch with the team from the Bistro Point restaurant at the University of Gibraltar, the perfect setting with unrivalled views over the Bay and Strait in which to enjoy the comforting, dark green Spinach and Fennel soup and Vitello Tonnato, thin slices of veal served in a rich fish sauce made from tuna, capers and anchovies.

It is often mothers and grandmothers who are the sources of inspiration for chefs who are introduced to their love of cooking by family and this is also true for chef and food writer Ching He Huang whose favourite childhood memory is watching her grandmother cooking at her wood-fired stove on her farm in Taiwan. The delightful Ching chatted to Donald Sloan about her new book Wok On in a pre-lunch discussion peppered with ‘wok’ puns: “I’m trying to keep ‘woking’ on’, the author of nine cookbooks said. Born in Taiwan and raised in South Africa, Ching moved to London where she launched a catering company before “having to up her game” when she became a TV chef. Ching said that what she loves about food is “bringing people together”, and that her essential piece of equipment in the kitchen has to be a wok. “You can’t go wrong with a stir fry,” she told us. Her top tip is to make sure that each ingredient has its time in the wok and she described ‘the breath of the wok’, explaining that you have to wait until the wok is smoking and the flames are licking the sides before adding the food, one ingredient at a time. Lunch, created by Ching and prepared with the team at the O’Callaghan Eliott Hotel, consisted of Sweet and Sour Baby Squid with Kumquats, tender Braised Hong Sao Pork, and Mango, Lychee, Pineapple and Passion Fruit with Star Anise Sugar and Mango Ice Cream. All courses were delicious and a triumph of taste sensations that pleasured the mouth!

Women and gender equality was the hot topic expounded by Paola Diana, bestselling author, activist and entrepreneur, who presented her views at the Gibraltar Lecture in the Convent. Introduced by Chief Minister Fabian Picardo who told the audience that he “wants the next Chief Minister to be a woman”, Paola made a passionate case for more women at the top of politics and economics. “Women can be the greatest factor for change in the 21st century,” she said, going on to give examples of women who are already making a difference such as New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest woman to serve in the United States Congress. Paola questioned why countries in which women have achieved political, economic and social rights ignore the cause in countries where women are left behind. “We need a feminist diplomacy,” she concluded.

In a celebration of the life of one of Gibraltar’s most loved women, a tribute was held to Mary Chiappe, writer, teacher, and - at only twenty five years of age - Gibraltar’s Minster of Education. The evening included anecdotes about her life and readings by family and friends from Mary’s novels, poetry and journalism and award-winning poet Ruth O’Callaghan read from her book Unportioned and talked about their long and strange relationship which started when she met Mary who was teaching at the school Ruth attended as a student. “We were two prisoners in the same institution, albeit in a different capacity,” Ruth explained. We learnt that Mary played table tennis to championship level in Gibraltar, that she was probably the youngest woman minister in the Commonwealth, and that for many years she had a regular column every Friday in the pages of the Gibraltar Chronicle. At the end of the event the launch of the Mary Chiappe International Poetry Competition was announced by Chief Executive of the Tourist Board and Festival Director Nicky Guerrero in honour of Mary’s life and work.

Former Conservative Cabinet Minister and Governor of Hong Kong Lord Chris Patten delivered the Governor’s Lecture at the Convent, where he talked about some very timely concerns including Brexit and its effect on Gibraltar, as well as the current crisis and unrest in Hong Kong about which he said: “the situation there is a reminder of how close civilisation can come to chaos.” Interviewed by Nick Higham, Lord Patten was both entertaining and interesting and had many of the packed audience members nodding along with his views, especially about Brexit.

A perfect place to celebrate your love of literature in all its forms with a wide range of themes that generate conversations and promote insight and understanding, the Gibunco Gibraltar International Literary Festival has always been enjoyed by participants and audiences alike, and this year’s event was no exception.

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FEATURE

DOLPHINS WOW US WITH THEIR SLEEPING ONLY HALF OF THEIR BRAIN AT THE TIME, IN ORDER TO CONTROL THEIR REGULAR SURFACING AND AVOID DROWNING AT NIGHT – AND SO ARE SOME MIGRATORY BIRDS THAT CAN HALF-SLEEP WHILE FLYING LONG HAUL. But humans? Until not long ago, it was common notion – and a scientific fact – that humans, like most land mammals, need a few hours continuous sleep every day, consumed in a relaxed position, during which they are out for the count and their alertness is reduced to virtually nil, and they have no or little conscious recollection of what has been happening around them once they wake up again, that’s why sleeping is dubbed in many cultures something like ‘little death’.

Well, neurology is now challenging this stance, and carrying out research that demonstrates there are indeed parts of our brain which stay awake while we rest apparently in deep sleep oblivious to the world, and conversely there are other parts which still go on screensaver mode when we rush around wide awake.

suffering man who violently kicked and scratched his wife while asleep.

The speaker dwelled, with a plethora of the gory details related in the attending medic’s statement, on the extraordinary case of Phineas Gage, an American railroad construction foreman who survived an iron rod being driven through his head by an explosion, despite losing his left frontal lobe (a teacupful of which was catapulted out of his cracked skull during his vomiting efforts, according to the doctor’s report).

Phineas remained fully functioning after the incident, but his personality and behaviour changed significantly, prompting research into the different tasks assigned to, and performed by, each part of the brain.

Guy showed a clip from Disney’s cartoon Cinderella where the old king is seen rolling around his bed while dreaming about playing piggyback with his grandchildren, and noted that clinical research in this behaviour was taken on only a few years after the film was released, and resulted in describing it as a medical condition.

One obvious example is that your senses of hearing and smelling are alert 24/7, the more so the more your brain perceives peril in the environment, which explains why it is more difficult to have a restful night in a luxury hotel as much as on a camping trip, in the army or in jail.

There are other conditions that cause the patient to dream while fully awake, inducing hallucinations, or a form of temporary paralysis that slackens all muscles as if during a healthy REM phase, but while the patient is wide awake, albeit in a relaxed state.

We also know that we enjoy a few REM phases in our circadian rhythms – actually, if we didn’t, our mental health would be quickly affected – during which our body is completely relaxed, limp even, and the only muscles engaged in activity are the ones around the eyes, since this phase, the one when dreams happen, is characterised by rapid eye movement.

The talk touched upon narcolepsy and catalepsy, severe conditions that disrupt and destroy the patient’s life: a man in his forties saw his near-perfect life crumble apart when he started feeling his knee buckle more and more every time he experienced strong emotions, even a positive one, to the point that his children’s laughter would have him in a heap on the floor, awake and yet unresponsive or convulsing, unable to interact with his surroundings. It is postulated that this is pathological ‘overkill’ for the otherwise evolutionary response to threat - alternative to fight or flight - that ‘playing dead’, or the ‘lizard effect’ observed in various animals, particularly birds, and among mammals, proverbially the opossum.

In his book ‘The Nocturnal Brain’, Guy’s and St. Thomas’s neurologist and sleeping disorders expert Guy Leschziner presents his case studies about extreme medical issues caused by abnormalities in the brain, ranging from narcolepsy to sleepwalking, and shows how sleep and wake are never opposite and exclusive statuses even in the healthy brain, but when they dramatically intrude in each other’s space, they can and do affect the patient’s life significantly for the worst.

With an articulated, light-hearted, informative and accessible presentation, Dr Leschziner took the riveted audience on a journey inside ‘that fatty lump’ that the human brain is, and the almost unbelievable actions it can perform while it is supposed to be off-duty.

He told the story of a woman who would get up, get dressed, get in the car and drive it for miles before turning it around and going back to bed as if it had never happened – and for her conscious mind in fact it didn’t – and a man who committed a felony while sleep-walking, and obviously had a hard time in proving it to the jury, or the restless leg syndrome

To round up, Guy touched upon the glympathic system, a recently discovered net of channels that drain the brain of extra fluid and waste, fully operational mostly if not exclusively during sleep.

Most probably, tiny compartments of your brain were fast asleep while you’ve been reading this article, according to this study. And that’s a good thing, because they are now cleansed and ready for a new chapter.

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FEATURE

CrimeAccomplishment & THE REALITY OF FORENSIC SCIENCE AND HOW TO APPLY IT TO POLICE PROCEDURAL FICTION

As an avid consumer and sometimes producer of crime fiction, I flocked at the opportunity to meet professor Angela Gallop, when she presented her book ‘When The Dogs Don’t Bark’ - a turn of phrase borrowed from Sherlock Holmes - at the last Gibunco Literary Festival.

It felt like meeting a real-life Ruth Galloway, Kay Scarpetta, Sara Linton or Maura Isles, the characters born from the imagination of Elly Griffiths, Patricia Cornwell, Karin Slaughter and Tess Gerritsen respectively, on both sides of the Pond!

Her talk was strictly scientific, but it helped me devise some tips on how to build up a more realistic character – or set of characters – inspired by her and her 45-year experience, so I’d like to share some here below.

Pioneering the trend of female forensic scientists, one of the first women, if not the first, to take up this career path in the mid-Seventies, Angela has been working murder scenes and cold cases all over the UK, including the so-called Yorkshire Ripper, has solved the unsolvable and seen forensic science come to rescue in leaps and bounds since her first day at work in a former residential mansion converted into a crime lab, where firearms were tested in what once was the lounge, chemicals sprayed around with little health and safety concerns, and the office was such a men’s world that Angela was eventually told by her boss she had become ‘an honorary bloke’ as a means to praise her efficiency, insight, expertise and intuition.

professionals, each contributing one piece to the puzzle.

Of course, for literary convention purposes, a writer doesn’t need to introduce a small army of ‘nerds and geeks’ in the narrative, to avoid clogging the readers’ mind with extra names and job titles, but for reality’s sake it should be mentioned en passant how the resident forensic character makes a point of conferring with unnamed experts about any fibre, pollen, dirt, etc. recovered at the crime scene.

The second golden rule is that every contact leaves one or more traces, which are often long-lasting or even permanent, and nowadays, with DNA comparison, this rule applies down to molecular level – thus one wonders why perpetrators don’t rush to destroy their entire apparel as soon as the deed is done, instead of washing it frantically despite the notion that no matter how much bleach it’s splashed with, it will not withstand the Luminol test, because haemoglobin is a tough stain to shout off.

And yet, the perp’s fondness, or perhaps fetish, for his ‘action’ gear has, in more than one occasion, helped Angela and her team seek and find justice for the victims - and to clear and exonerate the wrongly accused.

The first golden rule about forensic science is that it entails team work between the supervising officer, with the trained keen eye to comb the crime scene for traces, and the experts who can evaluate, recognise, and make sense of those traces, to put them into context as evidence and reconstruct the crime scene and the build-up to it.

The third golden rule is that forensic science doesn’t always come under the police umbrella, but it is exercised by independent authorities, and most importantly, it can prove invaluable help to the defence as much as to the prosecution.

Unlike in most TV shows or crime novels, in which the forensic scientist is a wondrous jack-of-trades, conversant in botany, geology, textiles, biochemistry, ballistics, vernacular inflection, video and audio enhancing, etc., in real life these tasks are assigned to different

Angela’s most important point – the one in fact that gives the book its title – is about what is not found at the crime scene, although it may be widely expected to be there somewhere.. If the suspect was there, he must have left at least one tiny trace, even if it has to be sought at molecular level or by dismantling the furniture.

WORDS

BY ELENACARTWRIGHT SCIALTIEL WORDS

BY RICHARD GIBRALTARINSIGHT.COM

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FEATURE Angela mentioned the case of a stabbed victim on whom no clue was found at first, despite seeming odd that the attackers hadn’t suffered any wound of their own, given the ferocity of the attack itself. In fact, in a knifing attack it is very likely that the knife would slice the handler’s flesh more or less severely when the second, third etc. blows are dealt, that’s why the murder weapon is always checked for DNA other than the victim’s, usually lodged between the blade and the hilt, Angela explained. And this you probably knew already if you are a CSI or NCIS fan, because you’re told there umpteen times.

However, in Angela’s cold case, there was no third party’s blood on the victim or the knife, but she was determined to find it somewhere around the crime scene.

Time had passed, and the room had been given a lick of paint or two, but thanks to Angela’s team’s meticulous work in peeling off thin layer of paint after thin layer to expose the one that was on the surface at the very time of the facts, blood traces were found smeared on the wall and door jamb, left behind by the fleeing murderer, and a DNA test was enough to match it to one of the suspects who had motive and opportunity, but no evidence other than circumstantial was collected before.

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Given the fast-evolving technology that forensic science enjoys, writers must always keep in mind the time and place their plot is set in: for example, I read Elizabeth George’s novels recently, and at first I was shocked that Inspector Lynley, an experienced and efficient cop, would use a phone box to make a work call… Well, of course, the action is set before mobile phones era!

Likewise, before the invention of smart phones, the police weren’t able to scour the online database for a match to lifted fingerprints in the comfort of the crime scene.

Lastly, forensic scientists must take care not to contaminate or erase evidence before it can be processed, with their own presence at the crime scene. This is achieved by donning head-to-toe protective gear, no matter how clumsy and alien-looking it makes you, as we often witness Rhona MacLeod do in great detail within the pages of Lin Anderson’s Scottish series. Hence, fold aside the idea of your character attending in stilettos, or at least remind her to carry a pair of sturdy wellies in the boot – or rubber boots in the trunk, if she is American.

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SPORTS INSIGHT

Gibraltar’s introduction into competitive international football, for so long delayed by a recalcitrant neighbour vetoing the Rock’s admission to UEFA and FIFA, is proving to be an exciting, unqualified success, measured not, perhaps, by outstanding prowess on the playing field, but by the golden new opportunities participation in global tournaments present to players and fans to meet, greet and play against, rub shoulders with household names, joys only hitherto experienced via virtual acquaintance of living room and pub television transmissions, Match of the Day highlights or Sky Sports, discovering friendly new frontiers to cross, rival supporters with whom to sup copious pints, home and away, united in common cause - the celebration of the beautiful game we are all so enamoured with.

Glancing at Gibraltar’s match schedule in Group D when the timetable of Euro 2020 was published, my eye was drawn to the last week of qualification and the two gigantic games that awaited the Rock – away to Denmark and three days later welcoming Switzerland to the Stadium – David vs Goliath contests that were unlikely to yield positives, especially now that the Danes and the Swiss were engaged with Ireland in a fierce three-way battle for the two tickets to the finals – three points were vital for both the group heavyweights, Gibraltar stood in the way and Julio’s boys had to be put to the sword.

And so it proved.

in front of a hostile 25,000 crowd, would collapse, but a truly tremendous defensive effort, led by “Captain Fantastic” Roy Chipolina, kept the rampaging Danes at bay until the break, and a 1-0 halftime deficit was no mean achievement. Inevitably, tiredness took its toll in the second period and the scoreline took on an unflattering look that doesn’t do justice to that heroic first half performance.

Three days later Switzerland, ranked 8th in the world, also hit the Rock for six, but at least this time the Victoria Stadium faithful got the opportunity to exercise their tonsils when Reece Styche prodded the ball home in the 74th minute, just Gib’s third goal of the qualifying campaign. The Swiss fans were a joy, fun loving, respectful and, just like the Irish last March, fond of a drink or three. Casemates was abuzz in the days prior to the game, hundreds of the red-shirted visitors eager to explore Gibraltar and have a good time, fans like Gillies and Sylvain, a resourceful pair who purchased a fondue set and gas burner and were happily snacking Swiss cheese on Main Street, having a ball, both predicting a narrow 2-0 victory for the visitors. It’s interaction like this between visiting supporters and locals that adds so much more to the sport than mere results on the playing field.

LET DON’T ON THE S P M U B PSET ROAD U CK’S THE RO FOOTY EY JOURN

First up was the trip to wonderful Copenhagen where the bare stats reveal that the Danes replicated the result of the Victoria Stadium clash, both games ending in 6-0 victories, but that tells only half the story.

After conceding early to chief tormentor Robert Skov, the fear was that Gibraltar, ranked 195th in the world, playing a side ranked 10th,

Gibraltar is a picture postcard destination that worldwide everyone has heard of but few have visited, and now that international football is here to stay the Rock can expect thousands of extra footy fans, all anxious to spend money and have a good time. It was noticeable at the end of the Switzerland game that as the crowd filed away most of the visiting fans turned left towards the frontier and Spain, walking over the runway of the airport that could have served as their arrival point – a very-underused first class international airport – surely an opportunity for a savvy entrepreneur to charter aircraft and provide all-inclusive packages to and from exotic places that increasing participation in the world of football has opened up for the Rock. Let the footy fun rock on!

WORDS BY LIAM BEGLAN, SPORTS WRITER GIBRALTARINSIGHT.COM

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SPORTS INSIGHT

A LOOK BACK AT 2019 A GREAT SPORTING YEAR WORDS BY LIAM BEGLAN, SPORTS WRITER 30

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2019 will live long in the memory as it served up a series of sporting spectaculars, headlined by two giant global contests - Rugby Union’s World Cup scheduled to take place for the first time in Japan and Cricket’s World Cup set for summer in England. Additionally, Gibraltar was looking forward to hosting the Island Games and, in football, Portugal was the venue for the finals of the inaugural Nations League. Come with me while we take a look at how this great sporting year unfolded.

JANUARY EMOTIONAL ‘Mighty’ Michael van Gerwen became the first world champion of 2019 when the Dutch master captured his third PDC World Darts Championship, beating St Helens’ Michael Smith 7-3 at the Ally Pally in London on New Year’s Day. The BDO version was won for the third time in a row

by Middlesbrough’s Glen Durrant who beat Bradford’s Scott Waites by an identical score at the Lakeside Country Club, Frimley Green, a fortnight later.

Novak Djokovic brushed aside Spain’s Rafael Nadal in straight sets to win a record seventh Australian Open - the superb Serb’s 15th slam, while Naomi Osaka won backto-back slams with a straight sets victory over Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic and, in the process, the 21-year-old heroine of Japan became the first Asian woman to achieve world number one ranking.

Tragedy struck the football world when 28-year-old Argentinean Emiliano Sala, who had just signed for Cardiff City for a club-record £15m fee from Nantes, perished in a private plane crash on 21st January.

FEBRUARY FIFA WORLD CUP 2022 hosts Qatar served notice that the Gulf state will be a serious force in the tournament when winning the Asian Nations Cup, stunning Japan 3-1 in the final in Abu Dhabi on the opening day of the month.

The Rose Bowl, that annual four-hour borefest where obscenely overpaid NFL stars are kitted out better than wartime frontline troops, was won by New England Patriots who beat LA Rams 13-3 before a full house in Atlanta and an estimated TV audience of about 100 million in US alone, where a 30-second TV advertising slot cost an astonishing $5.25m. Contrast this stop-start anaemic non-event, the lowest scoring final in history, with the ferocious bone-crunching hand-to-hand combat of the previous day’s Six Nations rugby union clash in Dublin where England surprised defending grand-slam champions Ireland 32-20, with the only nod to player protection being a flimsy jockstrap to keep the “meat and two veg” of the gladiators intact and their womenfolk happy!

In unimaginable horror, Brazil was plunged into shock and mourning when fire swept through the teenage team dormitory of top club Flamengo, ruthlessly extinguishing youthful dreams of stardom and cruelly claiming the lives of ten sleeping youngsters.

Legendary goalkeeper Gordon Banks, a vital member of England’s World Cup-winning side of 1966, passed away on 12th February. Gentleman Gordon, capped 73 times for England and an icon of Stoke and Leicester football clubs, succumbed to cancer of the kidney, aged 81.

mise through dementia of two of football’s stellar stars, ‘Anfield Iron’ Tommy Smith of Liverpool legend who passed on 12th April, aged 74, and Celtic’s Billy McNeill, captain of the 1967 Lions of Lisbon - the first British club to win the European Cup - who succumbed ten days later.

MARCH

Tiger Woods rolled back time and years of personal heartbreak when winning The Masters, his 15th Major title.

THE CHELTENHAM National Hunt Festival saw both the Champion Hurdle crown and the Gold Cup cross the Irish Sea, with the ill-fated Espoir d’Allen at 16/1, trained by an Irishman with the unlikely surname of Cromwell, Gavin Cromwell, causing a shock in the Champion Hurdle and Al Boum Photo at 12/1 evicting the long-term monkey from trainer Willie Mullins’ back when winning the top trainer his first Gold Cup success.

Tragically, the immensely talented Espoir d’Allen suffered an injury while exercising a short while later that ultimately was to prove fatal.

The 2019 Gibraltar Open Snooker Championship was won by England’s Stuart Bingham who beat defending champion Welshman Ryan Day 4-1 in the final. Regrettably, the tournament will be remembered more for the outrageously offensive remarks from Ronnie O’Sullivan as to why he wouldn’t be taking part, Rocket Ronnie charmingly stating that he’d ‘rather sleep in a pig sty’ than play in Gibraltar.

Wales clinched rugby union’s Six Nations Championship in style, routing Ireland 25-7 at The Principality to complete a gritty Grand Slam success for the Red Dragons.

Mercedes celebrated a one-two in the opening F1 Grand Prix of the season, the Australian GP, but not in the expected order, with the Finn, Valtteri Bottas, finishing in front of teammate and favourite Lewis Hamilton. It was the same one-two in the following Bahrain GP, but this time the other way round with Hamilton leading Bottas home.

Saturday 23rd March and Gibraltar start Euro 2020 qualification with a spirited but luckless 1-0 defeat to Ireland at a frenzied, sold-out Victoria Stadium.

APRIL THE WORLD’S greatest steeplechase, the Grand National, saw tiny Tiger Roll, at odds of 4/1, trained in Ireland by Gordon Elliott and ridden by Davy Russell, become the first horse since the immortal Red Rum in 1973/74 to win back-to-back Grand Nationals.

A stark reminder of the passage of time and mortality of man came with the sad de-

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Groundhog Day in Formula One yet again with Hamilton winning the China Grand Prix from Bottas, the same duo dominating the Azerbaijan GP a week later, but on this occasion the Finn outpointing the Briton.

MAY JUDD TRUMP won Snooker’s World Championship for the first time, the Bristolian pocketing the winner’s cheque of half-amillion quid after easily overcoming Scotland’s John Higgins 18-9 in a disappointing final at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

The first two classics of the horse racing season were won by the all-conquering Aidan O’Brien stable with Magna Grecia, ridden by the trainer’s son Donnacha, winning the 2000 Guineas at odds of 11/2 and Hermosa, ridden by Wayne Lordan, completing the stable double by notching the 1000 Guineas at 14/1.

Saracens won their third rugby union European Cup in four years when beating Leinster 20-10 in the final at Newcastle’s Ricoh Stadium.

In F1’s Spanish GP, it was yet another onetwo finish for Mercedes with Hamilton leading Bottas home. Hamilton also won the Monaco GP, dedicating his third win in the event to his childhood hero and inspiration F1 legend Niki Lauda who had passed away six days earlier, aged 70.

Magnificent Manchester City made history by walloping Watford 6-0 in the FA Cup Final, an unprecedented achievement that meant the nation’s favourite trophy joined the League Cup and Premier League silverware already on display in the Ethiad trophy cabinet, the first time the domestic treble has ever been achieved in the same season.

JUNE SATURDAY 1st June was truly a sensational day of spectacular sporting action spread over a wide variety of sports - Liverpool winning their sixth Champions League title with a 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in Madrid; In rugby union Saracens added the Premiership title to the European Cup,

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coming from behind to beat Exeter 3734 in a fantastic final; Horse racing saw Aidan O’Brien train his seventh Derby winner when Antony Van Dyck, piloted

by Seamie Heffernan, at odds of 13/2, win the blue riband of the Flat, the Oaks, the fillies equivalent, was won by Anapurna, ridden by Frankie Dettori at odds of 8/1 the previous day. What a day of sport so far, but the most sensational result of all had still to come, when Anthony Joshua lost his unbeaten record and his three world titles to an unconsidered last-minute substitute opponent from Mexico, Andy Ruis Jnr, in front of a disbelieving capacity crowd at New York’s Madison Square Gardens.

Hosts Portugal won the inaugural UEFA Nations League title, beating The Netherlands 1-0 in the final. England, having fallen to the Dutch in the semi-final, overcame Switzerland on penalties after extra time to win the third-place playoff.

JULY England won the Cricket World Cup for the first time in unforgettable fashion, beating New Zealand on boundaries countback when the teams had finished level after the 50 overs had been completed and, incredibly, a Super Over also failed to split the teams. The countback revealed that the Red Roses’ 22 fours and two sixes trumped the Black Caps’ total of 14 and two, a breathtaking finale that for sheer excitement can never again be equalled. England’s captain, Dublin man Eoin Morgan lifted the Cup, but the hosts’ victory at Lord’s would not have happened had it not been for the herculean heroics of Ben Stokes, ironically, a born and bred Kiwi from Christchurch, who moved to England when he was 12. What drama!

The F1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone was won for a record sixth time by Lewis Hamilton.

Novak Djokovic successfully retained his Wimbledon’s Men’s Singles and broke the fluttering hearts of thousands of female fans by beating Roger Federer in a five-set thriller lasting four hours and

57 minutes, the longest Wimbledon singles final in history. In the Ladies final, gutsy Romanian Simona Halep took just 56 minutes to sensationally see off Serena Williams in straight sets.

Cycling’s Tour de France was won by Belgian Egan Bernal from Geraint Thomas of Wales. Gibraltar hosted the 2019 Island Games, the “friendly games”, warmly welcoming entrants from 21 worldwide community of islands for what proved to be an immensely enjoyable week of sport. Jersey once again topped the medal-winning table, with Gibraltar finishing a creditable 10th of the 22 competing countries, harvesting a total haul of 29 medals, eight of them gold.

Shane Lowry nets his first golf major when winning the British Open at Royal Portrush, the popular Irishman pocketing a first prize of almost two million dollars.

AUGUST Fresh from riding the crest of a wave after winning cricket’s World Cup, England were swiftly brought back to earth with a bump in the First Ashes Test at Edgbaston, when Australia bashed the Poms by 251 runs. First blood to the Aussies. The Second Test at Lord’s was drawn and a week later the sides were all square when England narrowly won the Third Test by one wicket at Headingley. All to play for in the remaining two Tests in September

SEPTEMBER The battle for the Ashes continued with the Fourth Test and, as holders, Australia’s 185-run victory at Old Trafford, Manchester, meant that irrespective of the result of the Fifth Test at The Oval, which England did win, the precious urn still returned to the Land Down Under.

land and South Africa, the Taffs failing narrowly against the Springboks and, in what many experts believe to be England’s greatest ever performance on the playing field, the Red Rose crushing the All Blacks 19-7. All is now set for the final – England v South Africa.Enable, Queen of the Turf, was unable to create history by winning three back-to-back Arcs, finishing a gallant runner-up in this year’s race.

NOVEMBER Saturday 2nd sees South Africa win the Webb Ellis Trophy, rugby union’s World Cup, beating England 32-12 in the final in Yokohama, the Springboks savagely pruning the Red Roses who had become red hot favourites for the title after demolishing the All Blacks in the semis.

Lewis Hamilton clinches his sixth F1 Championship by finishing runner-up to teammate Baltash in the US Grand Prix.

This season’s F1 Championship proved even more predictable and boring than the previous deadly dull affairs of yesteryear.

DECEMBER DEADLINE constraints means this part of the review becomes a preview of two mega events this month – the heavyweight boxing rematch between Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruis Jnr in Saudi Arabia on 7th December, which I confidently expect the Brit to avenge last June’s shock defeat, and my beloved King George VI Chase on Boxing Day, which I expect ALTIOR to win should he be allowed to run.

Good luck whatever you back and a Happy Christmas and New Year to all.

Rugby World Cup 2019 kicked off in Japan on September 23 with all four home nations heavily involved, each hoping to be the one to end Southern Hemisphere domination of the tournament.

OCTOBER Rugby’s most successful World Cup rolled on with hosts Japan surprising both Ireland and Scotland in the pool stage, England and Wales making it to the semi-finals where they will face southern hemisphere giants New Zea-

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FOOTBALL INSIGHT

LYNX FC FUTSAL

past present & future This month, Insight caught up with Lynx FC’s CEO Jonathan Costa about his views on the success of the Lynx Futsal Team.

Futsal is a variant of football played on a hard court, smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football.

their teammates. Lynx showcased their ethos of wanting to “Live Forever” in the history books and boy, did they do just that.

“I’m a great fan of Futsal and we have overcome leaps and bounds with the team to become one of the most successful Futsal teams in Gibraltar’ history.

Albert Parody faced a mammoth of a challenge, taking over the reins from Nicholas and Nicholai, whilst simultaneously looking after the football team. One could only think that this was the end, but we were to prove everyone wrong as Albert took them to what would be his first UEFA Futsal Champions league qualification campaign, having won the Super Cup and the Futsal league for a record 5 consecutive wins.

Since 2014-15 season, Lynx FC started a league domination where the club won five titles in five seasons. In 2018, the league re-organized from 4 divisions to two tiers, where Lynx Futsal became the number one team to beat. We have also attended 5 UEFA Futsal Champions league (Gibraltar, Lithuania, Switzerland, Romania and Holland) with the first UEFA Campaign hosted in Gibraltar for the first time. It was a moment never to forget with a 300% increase in attendance at the Tercentenary Hall, where the fans witnessed the first official UEFA Futsal Game win by a Gibraltar team.

In the days before becoming a UEFA member in 2013, young Gibraltarian players were criticised for a lack of control and technical ability and futsal was simply used as a fun and relatively safe way of developing those attributes throughout a player’s development. With an increasing number of professional clubs implementing it into their daily training regimes, futsal has become an increasingly popular sport in its own right in Gibraltar, for both adults and young children still at school.

The Lynx Futsal Team is going through a golden era where we continue to witness talented coaches and players taking the court in yellow. The move to success was widely contributed by Nicholas Rodriguez (Head Coach) and Nicholai Bado (Assistant Coach) by masterminding their opponents. It was admirable to see the players committed towards a single goal which was the love for the sports and

Ezequiel Martin has become one of the most respected Captains in the league after taking over from Christian Sanchez, a Legend and a true gentleman of the game.

Once again, a new life was injected into the team with Karl Zarb (Futsal Director), Shawn Ramos (Head Coach) and Aaron Perales (Physio) being brought into the winning formula, in addition to Deirdre Copello (Club Secretary). We demonstrated we were here to stay with our first win of the game, in the Louisito Bonavia Trophy (domestic supercup).

As the saying goes, we are all in charge of our own destiny and we will continue, not only to grow the team but to help promote the wonderful game in Gibraltar. I can promise the fans we are going nowhere and we can only thank the players and staff for their endless contribution to the club.”

FIND ALL UPCOMING FIXTURES lynxfc .com/futsa l-fixt

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GOLF

NEWS

THE CATERFOOD TROPHY The 2019-20 Med Golf season continued with the second event at the Benalup 5-Star Fairplay Golf and Spa resort on Sunday 27th October 2019.

and the best pair, as reported above, with a combined a score of 70 points was won

by David Murphy and Matthew Robinson.

The best gross score on the Par 3s was

Members who stayed in the hotel to make it a family weekend were treated to spacious and comfortable living while the players contested the Caterfood Trophy tournament on the recently renovated Par 73 course.

The course was in excellent shape with consistent greens and generous fairways while the almost perfect golfing weather played its part in ensuring a great day’s golf.

A strong breeze came and went during the day to provide an extra challenge and prevent any run away scores... almost. Read on!

Roy Azopardi who also won the best dressed golfer - best in show!

The champion of the day, winner of the Caterford Trophy and a £150 voucher redeemable at Cohen and Massias, jewellers and agents for Tag Heuer, was David Murphy with a great score of 40 Stableford points off a handicap of 17. The blow of a significant handicap cut signalled by David’s win will be softened his qualification to join the other 4 members who had previously qualified for the new and bigger Med Golf Masters in July 2020. David clearly picks his partners well as he also won the best pair this time with Matthew Robinson, having won the same prize at the last event with Ross Harkins - the two-time Category 1 winner.

The best gross score of 83 was posted by John Hunter and Hans Henrik Jensen was the best senior with a score of 39 points.

Richard Atkinson had the longest drive,

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Category 3 (handicap 22 to 30): The winner was Hans Henrik Jensen with a fine score of 39 points. A relatively new member of Med Golf Hans has been quick to qualify for the Masters and wins the coveted Master Shirt as well as the golf ball and tee pack.

Worthy of a mention is a very respectable score of 35 points by Dusan Matys. As Dusan was playing as a member for the first time off handicap 28, he could not win a main prize; however, the score will be used to establish his Med Golf handicap and he will be fully eligible in future events.

Nearest the pin winners were: Steve Edmunds, Martyn Brown, Nicky Sanchez, and Dan Lomax.

Dan was also nearest to the pin in 2 on a par 4 and Roger Griffiths along with C Manoletta were nearest to the pin in 3 on a par 5.

The prizes were presented by Med Golf’s Camille Benezrah.

Our handicap category prizes were won as follows: Category 1 (handicaps 0 to 13): The winner was Chris Warren who won entry into the Med Golf Masters and the coveted Med Golf Masters shirt as well as a set off balls and tees.

Category 2 (handicaps 14 to 21): Ross Harkins repeated his performance at the previous event by winning the Category, this time with 31 points. As he was already qualified for the Med Golf Masters, Ross won a set of golf balls and tees and a 40€ Med Gold voucher.

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Guests are made very welcome at all events and are encouraged to join us and enjoy a great day out. While they are not eligible to win the trophy or category prizes, they can win the many mini-competition prizes and even a best guest prize if warranted by numbers.

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TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT

Christmas Tech Gift Ideas

GEARBOX AUTOMATIC TURNTABLE MK2 Don’t be deceived by the looks that this turntable is some gimmick. At £549 it has a hefty price tag, but the components used are some of the best in class. Built by well-renowned firm Pro-ject, it features a bang up-to-date internet connection to tag tracks with streaming platforms as well as a more tradition vacuum tube for a warm sound.

£549

https://gbz.media/GearboxAutomatic

AMAZON ECHO DOT WITH CLOCK This latest iteration of Amazon’s ubiquitous Alexa-powered smart speaker was launched at an out-of-the-blue event earlier in the year, along with a number of other products. These included things like a smart microwave, able to cook by simply scanning a barcode. So, it’s not surprising that perhaps the Echo Dot’s latest upgrade got slightly overlooked. It looks similar to previous version, but has the benefit of an LED display that shows the time, outdoor temperature, timers, plus alarms.

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https://gbz.media/EchoDot3G

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TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT

APPLE AIRPODS PRO When the original AirPods launched, there was an element of derision with their design. Also, under-fire was the perception that they could fall out of ears without warning. Fast-forward to today and they are one of Apple’s non-core hit products. The “Pro” release was anticipated and widely leaked with tech fanatics even going so far as mocking-up how they might look. This new version also features noise-cancellation that competes with more tradition over-head headphones that the likes of Bose dominates. Despite being in-ear and smaller, Apple has done a god job of maximising every nano-millimetre of space with H1 chip technology - featuring 10 audio cores and powers everything from sound to Siri. For those not ready for full noise cancellation, the Transparency mode blends elements of ambient noise from the world outside the AirPods, so that the user can still take in things like transit announcements. Although designed specifically for use with Apple products, they can also be used with other brands using Bluetooth with limited functionality.

£249

https://gbz.media/AirPodsPro

Nike HyperAdapt Although conceived in a place called Hill Valley, these trainers are sure to make a global splash. They originally launched 2 years ago but have now hit their stride with global distribution. They self-lace and adjust the sizing to fit your foot in a way previously thought possible in the movies. A must-have for any budding Marty McFly. Available in a variety of colours.

£619.95

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FEATURE

IT’S

CHRISTMAS TIME TO SELL, SELL, SELL!

JINGLE BELLS ARE RINGING AND STORE CHECKOUT CASH REGISTERS ARE BUZZING ALL DAY LONG...

IT’S CHRISTMAS ONCE AGAIN, YULETIDE FEVER IS UP AND RUNNING FOR ANOTHER YEAR AND BUSINESSES ARE HOPING FOR THE BEST BUMPER SALES SEASON!

Businesses too, just like you and me, look forward to Christmas in order to boost their income to compensate for the `less than brilliant’ sales experienced over certain periods during the rest of the year. “You have to be on your toes and get going soon,” one toyshop owner told me. “Soon after Christmas is over, we’re already ordering goods for the next yuletide event and there have been times when many long evenings are spent watching the commercial breaks on cartoon and children’s TV channels to see what’s new. We need to make the most of the Christmas season and having the right toys and gadgets is a must.” Talking to managers and store owners around town the general impression is an optimistic one despite

`Brexit’ and whatever that brings, as sales at this time of the year are so important. Gone are the days when there was no or very little competition from the hinterland, catalogues or, the very popular and user- friendly internet to compete with - the latter increasingly being the preferred choice for many of us. Wine and liquor stores do well during the run up to the main event dare I say, with expensive bottles of wine, liquors, liqueurs and boxes of chocolates gifted to your favourite business colleague or professional.

Cafes, bars and restaurants cash in on the atmosphere too and do extremely well. Competition is rife in this sector with Christmas menus appearing in the press early into the autumn with restaurants and eateries competing

with each other for reservations to fill in all those December weekends when workplace and other parties are planned. It’s a busy time of the year with residents and visitors darting around town from shop to shop with a coffee break in between, trying not to forget anything. One of Gibraltar’s top watch and jewellery stores explained: “We almost totally rely on local customers, and visitors to the Rock are a plus. There are no cons on offer here and experience is of the essence. This period is great for us.” There are now a few card shops in town and for obvious reasons at a time like this they do well. “Yes, other events like birthdays, Mother’s and Father’s Day, Diwali with the Hindu community, Jewish feasts and other celebrations help the busi-

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FEATURE ness but during Christmas, sales double I’m happy to say,” a smiling card retailer, lady-manager tells me. “We do well with expats from up the coast too who don’t seem to find the variety and price range of English Christmas cards they find here. Wrapping paper and other gifts sell well also.”

Travel agents have a slice of the celebration cake too - or is it a whole mince pie at this time? They tell me some couples and families spend Christmas in a hotel close by on the coast or elsewhere and some elderly loners may choose to go off on a cruise or for a short stay somewhere during Christmas time.

By and large I’m told things start to roll by mid-November and during December it gets much busier with some stores staying open till late. There is a trend in many of us

to leave things until the last moment and that’s when some businesses beef up their Christmas sales during the last week or so before the `Big Day.’ Anecdotally, a shop manager recalls when one year a dad realised he’d left it really late; Gibraltar being what it is, where we practically know everyone else, he rang her on Christmas morning pleading she open up for him and she did! But hey… it’s Christmas and that was an extraordinary, kind hearted, goodwill gesture towards an absent-minded individual who would have otherwise been in his children’s bad books at such a special time of the year! Toys and gadgets must surely be the biggest sellers judging by the amount of gifts children receive these days - I can vouch for that having experienced my grandchildren hastily going through their individual piles of presents. Contrastingly, an elderly lady I met recalled being given just a doll at Christmas but was happy.

So these days no complaints from toy shops selling quantities of expensive toys and other electronic `thingamajigs’ but then, Christmas comes but once a year and nowadays, `affluence is in the air!’ However traders do say competition is a reality with punters buying on the internet, from catalogues and purchasing goods from nearby in Spain.

“Some don’t seem to have an issue buying for Christmas in the shopping malls and department stores in the hinterland and still purchasing goods here too. There’s extra spending power so they spend on both sides of the frontier,” a clothes retailer declared, but added, “many items in Spain these days cost pretty much the same as in Gib

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although with the drop in sterling’s value and consequently less purchasing power, fewer shoppers may be going over to `Christmas shop’ there. We’ll have to wait and see how things have panned out when the season’s over.” Another businessman suggested displaying Christmas goods so early in the autumn affected sales for other retailers in some ways and jokingly remarked, “Supermarkets especially begin selling Spanish Christmas confectionery and even Christmas puddings whilst we’re still on the beach!”

That gentleman also made the valid point that kicking off the Christmas season so early diminishes the expectation and excitement we would get in the past with the season’s ambience starting later as the date drew nearer during December, slowly building towards a more condensed, Christmastime atmosphere.

Should signposts be required to remind us Christmas 2019 is drawing ever so close, a stroll down town serves as a good reminder to have your `plastic money’ easily accessible to get ready to spend. Christmas lights are shining up above, shop window and interior displays are in full splendour, diners in restaurants and revellers in wine bars and pubs are making merry and customers in stores, shops, outlets and street markets busily on the go seeking out what to buy a family member, partner, boyfriend or sweetheart, a colleague, close friend or special person... not forgetting the kids of course! They’ll be expecting the latest toys, electronic or digital thing. Some grandparents have been there, got the video etc. etc. and decide to present family members and the kids with a nice envelope so that they can get what they want themselves, as the energy required to go hunting for presents from shop to shop is in short supply even though it’s the yuletide season.

Whichever way the cash is utilised, local businesses will hopefully reap the benefits. It certainly is an important time of the year for our Main Street shops and stores, backstreet traders, restaurants, and cafes bearing in mind the hefty rents and other overheads they have to raise income for with the many, not so beneficial, less profitable weeks and months and quieter moments experienced through much of the rest of the year.

So here’s to a good one or perhaps, the best one this 2019 Christmas... Cheers!

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ARMED FORCES INSIGHT

ONCE A SAPPER ALWAYS A SAPPER

A Canadian relative of a WW2 Royal Engineer veteran recently took time out to visit Gibraltar and learn more about the place her father served.

The Royal Engineers Association (REA) Gibraltar Branch hosted the visit by Rita and Phil Saunders. Rita’s father, Sapper Roy Bacon enlisted in the Royal Engineers on 7 May 1937, serving until 28 May 1946. He served in Gibraltar during WW2 between 5 November 1938 and 14 May 1943.

On retirement Roy met and married his wife in Belgium, before emigrating to Canada where they finally settled. He sadly recently passed away.

As part of a Mediterranean cruise, Rita and Phil took the opportunity to explore Gibraltar, and as a surprise for Rita, Phil had contacted Major Simon Andrews to find out if it would be possible to visit places her father would have known. Major Andrews, The President of the REA Branch - and one of only five serving Sappers left on The Rock - agreed.

Four members of the REA - Major Andrews, Warrant Officer 1 Chris Hatchard, Mr Phil Bennett and Mr Buck Sheppard met the couple and the tour included visits to South Barracks, Rosia, Camp Bay and Europa before venturing into REME chambers to see the workshop where Roy may have worked.

After going through the Upper Rock, Rita and Phil were then taken to the Great Siege Tunnels where Major Andrews explained why Gibraltar and the Great Siege Tunnels are a major and vital part of the history of The Corps of Royal Engineers. A visit to the World War II tunnels at Hays Level provided some context for Rita, before exploring the tunnels including Fordnams Accommodation. Main Street then beckoned for souvenir hunting and further immersion of Gibraltarian culture.

RAF STEM TEAM HITS THE CLASSROOMS Two more schools benefited from a visit by RAF Gibraltar as part of its Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) initiative within the local community.

Squadron Leader Egbert Yoke made another appearance in a Gibraltar classroom as part of a practical exercise to design and build a fall-arrest system, in the hope that the plucky test pilot lives another day!

The eight teams of students from St Mary’s First School, had to consider the overall cost of their design as well as potential success, utilised different strategies in a bid to protect Egbert from an initial drop from the first-floor gymnasium window. Following re-evaluation and modification, the designs were dropped from double the height and although not all ended with a successful outcome, the students were very enthusiastic about the challenge.

Before saying farewell and making sure Rita and Phil got back to the ship on time, ten members and partners of the REA Branch met the visitors in Casemates for a meal and a few drinks to cement new found friends and to regale stories. Rita mentioned that ‘Papa’ remembered his days in Gibraltar fondly, never saying much about ‘the job’, mainly about his time off. The saddest story was related to Roy’s brother, he too was doing his ‘bit’ and they had not seen each other since Roy left the UK for Gibraltar. Roy got wind of his brother’s passage through the Straits, on a ship bound for Singapore. Even though they couldn’t see each other Roy still ventured to Europa to wave his brother through the Straits and wish him luck on his way. It was to be the last time Roy was to ‘see’ his brother, his ship was attacked further east, and was lost at sea.

Several gifts were exchanged to mark the occasion. The REA Gibraltar Branch will now, amongst other things, enjoy hot pancakes with authentic Canadian Maple Syrup and Canadian Ice Wine at the next Branch meeting!

It is hoped Rita will hang the REA Branch plaque high, and fondly remember the Sapper family she met in Gibraltar, feeling the same pride Roy would have done while he served: Once A Sapper, Always A Sapper!

GDP Scores MoD Cash The Gibraltar Defence Police (GDP) has received a significant cash boost in the way of investment from the Ministry of Defence.

As part of the investment programme, all GDP police officers, together with security officers in the Defence Guard Service (DGS), are now equipped with stab/ballistic vests. These new vests are state-of-the-art and are much lighter than previous versions.

With police officers now routinely equipped with ‘PAVA’ incapacitant spray and firearms officers carrying the same Taser equipment as their Royal Gibraltar Police colleagues, the Force carries out its duties protecting the MOD whilst being ready to support other law enforcement colleagues as and when required.

Deputy Head Teacher, Mrs Caruana, commented on how impressed she was with the students engagement with RAF Gibraltar personnel facilitating the event and several students expressed how much fun they were having.

Other recent changes have seen the GDP move from its traditional green and white chequered cap band to the more widely used black and white band.

St Anne’s Middle School students were set a task called ‘Wound Up’, which involved the students being provided with an ‘engine’ powered by a large elastic band. From this they had to work as a team to build a vehicle, utilising the provided kits, capable of transporting a basketball the furthest distance from the start point.

The GDP’s Chief Police Officer, Chief Superintendent Rob Allen said, “We are proud to maintain our identity as a police force – something that is generally reflected in our badges and on our vehicles. That said, in a policing environment where firearms are now more often present than ever before it is essential that we are easily identifiable as police officers.

The black and white cap band is an internationally recognised police ‘brand’.”

During the build, students were asked to think about features such as weight that would aid their design in travelling as far as possible. Following three initial runs, and varying degrees of success, the teams were asked to think about how they could improve their designs to make them go even further.

Commenting on the visit, Headteacher Mrs Andrews said the day was very stimulating and gave the students a chance to learn outside of the classroom environment whilst linking in project base learning.

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FEATURE

READY TO STAND? ‘ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST...’ GIBRALTAR HAS A NEW GOVERNMENT WHICH WILL SEE US THROUGH GOOD TIMES AND (HOPEFULLY NOT), BAD TIMES. THERE’LL BE HIGHS AND LOWS TO DEAL WITH AND WHATEVER COMES OUR WAY INCLUDING... FROM ACROSS `THE WAY!’ MEANWHILE, BREXIT WILL NO DOUBT REAR ITS UGLY HEAD!

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FEATURE In a phrase, standing for election takes some courage and ought to be much admired. Elections - local or general - seem to be taking place all over the globe at this time: in Andorra, Africa, Spain, Canada, Bolivia, the European Parliament, as well as in the UK, and there are more around the world. And that’s not to mention civil unrest going on in many countries: citizens expressing discontent with their governments because of inequality, climate change, the gap between rich and poor, corruption, or other reasons. They’ve been prevalent in Hong Kong, Catalonia, Haiti, Brazil, Ecuador, Chile, Lebanon and Tunisia, to name a few. Protests are certainly growing around the world. A couple of months ago Gibraltar residents had their opportunity to vote for the next government to steer us through the next four years of perhaps, in some respects, tricky, unchartered waters. Our elections come by every four years unless an earlier call to the voting booth is required.

By and large our elections are conducted and attended to in an orderly fashion and the night of the count is always held with great expectation in the hope of your party being the victors. As the night progresses into the early hours sleepy heads are a-plenty in the John Mackintosh Hall until the result is nigh well into the early morning and `election buzz’ returns to all those present. At home, some stay up all night propped up in bed and others just can’t hold back the sleep and drop off till the result is announced in the early morning awakening to a delightful

result, disappointment, surprise or indifference as to the outcome!

Gibraltar’s election campaigns get going about four weeks prior to voting day and party members and followers of those groups or individuals contesting the election for that all-important, imminent contest conduct themselves in a well-behaved manner respecting the other person’s views and choices about who they prefer to have guide us through the next four year term. On voting day I find it courteous to take a voting guide leaflet from all the party representatives offering their candidate line-up, and this 2019 election has been exemplary. It has been noticeably clean and quiet right through the campaign, on voting day and on the night of the count. I’ve heard it said the reason could well have been because the result was a foregone conclusion. However there have been occasions in past elections where unpleasant scenes have been experienced. A common one (happened just once or twice this time) is the defacing of posters by ripping them off election billboards as well as removing manifestos from letter boxes... puerile vandalism at its best! There’s been egg throwing at least on one occasion, insulting heckles at estates (with the odd swear word thrown in for good measure), and these days we have the laptop warriors on social media where you can really have a go to your heart’s content indulging in smear campaigns and hurling abuse and personal insults at individual candidates... not nice! However, nothing near to what’s happening around the world now. In the main, local general elections have been livelier and perhaps more exciting than this last one with flag waving from cars driven around town, more of an atmosphere at polling stations and much more of a buzz down town with plenty of friendly discourse on the subject before

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and after the election, in cafes, restaurants and clubs everywhere. There are also some incredible statements made by party followers when their favourites have been elected: I once heard a lady exclaim, “Ay, now we can breathe at last!” As if she had been living in a totalitarian regime for the past years when the other party was in power. Others will say, “That’s the end of all the corruption that’s been going on.” Not unlike, allegedly, some African state or other jurisdictions! Yes, some devoted, passionate party followers do go to extremes. Others may expect political favours for their unwavering support. My view, is not to follow any party as if it was a football team. `Norwich County for life, win or lose!’ No, political parties suffer from wear and tear like everyone else, get things wrong and lose their touch so sometimes you need to think about that before you start planting crosses behind the curtain at your assigned polling station. Take it a term at a time and see whether they accomplished your expectations of them, and brought about the changes they pledged to undertake.

So, who are those who stand for election with a desire to do their best to improve `things’ in their community? I believe they mean well in the hope they can `make a change’ and improve on what’s absent or failing there, in their opinion of course! Perspectives change when individuals have been elected and are now in a position where the buck stops at their door as Minister for whatever, or tougher still, the Chief

Minister’s. Ministers, whether lawyers, doctors, ex-Civil Servants, businessmen, taxi drivers or dustbin men, are all human beings just like you and me and like you and me, can get things wrong. They are not super beings dropping down from Mars or Venus and not infallible.

Already, not a week after this last election, unions were displeased they’d not been consulted about plans to re-vamp the Civil Service.

That’s just one week into a four-year term of office and there’s 201 more weeks to get through! Those who go for it are brave individuals, especially in a small community with all the closeness that offers.

It’s not surprising elected members keep away from Main Street and the rest of the town centre. Constituents can be quite demanding from ringing ministers at two in the morning because they happen to be on night shift, to banging on their office doors insisting on an appointment upsetting secretaries and PAs in the process. So, there is an element of being thick skinned when entering politics or at least being ready to take on the rough times with the smooth. Winston Churchill used to say, `If you want to dirty your hands, enter politics’ - it can get dirty sometimes with insults and accusations even across the floor in our small Parliament. Politics is adversarial we know and keeping arguments and slurs out of the discourse can be taxing for some. Meanwhile, Brexit will still be a topic to deal with - with all its ramifications!

Well, `Election 2019’ was an example of how it should always be: clean, quiet, respectful of each other and pleasant. May the tranquillity and calmness continue amongst our politicians at Parliament meetings right through to the next time. Wishful thinking perhaps?

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FEATURE

SEARCHING FOR

SANTA

FROM GOATS AND TROLLS TO WITCHES AND KINGS…

The magic of Christmas isn’t the same for millions of children around the world without a visit from Santa. Often too excited to go to sleep on Christmas Eve, some try to stay awake to see the beloved figure as he leaves presents in stockings at the end of their beds or by the hearth of the fireplace. In the morning, they wake up to find the crumbs of mince pies and an empty glass of brandy or milk which they had left out for the big man before they went to bed, alongside the remnants of carrots nibbled by his sleigh-pulling reindeer.

In some parts of the Western world we know the jolly fellow as Santa Claus or Father Christmas, recognisable by his luxurious fluffy white beard, a red nightcap and long jacket trimmed with white fur fastened round his tubby body with a large black belt, finished off by a pair of long black boots. This depiction of Santa is often said to have come about thanks to clever marketing for an advertising campaign by Coca-Cola from the early 1930s. However, Santa’s outfit is more likely to have been inspired by Saint Nicholas who was the Bishop of Myra in the 4th Century in the capital of the province of Lycia in Asia Minor, which was then part of the Roman Empire and today is in Turkey. Saint Nicholas was renowned for his kindness to children and generosity to the poor and had a reputation as a secret gift giver.

There are many stories and legends about pagan winter festivals which include a ‘Father Christmas’ type figure, all of which have become part of the modern version and with so many different depictions of the jolly old man, here are just some of the ways Santa Claus is portrayed from country to country.

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FEATURE Father Christmas, United KingdOM Originally part of an old English midwinter festival, Father Christmas was normally dressed in a long green hooded cloak, a sign of the returning spring, and would wear a wreath of holly, ivy or mistletoe on his head and was known as ‘Sir Christmas’, ‘Old Father Christmas’ or Old Winter’. Christmas was barely celebrated at the start of the 1800s with the 25th December being just a normal working day. It was the publication of ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens that raised the status of Christmas from a pagan festival to the modern family holiday that we recognise today full of festive cheer and, of course, Father Christmas.

Papai Noel, Brazil Brazil is on the other side of the equator, so Christmas comes in the middle of summer. That’s why Papai Noel, also referred to as Bom Velhinho (Good Old Man), arrives from his home in the North Pole sometimes wearing silk clothes to keep him cool in the heat. On Christmas Eve, children set out their shoes to find them filled with small gifts in the morning.

Père Noël, France Traditionally, le Père Noël, or Papa Noël, brings toys to good little boys and girls after evening Mass on Christmas Eve. However in eastern France where the old traditions persist Père Noël is known to observe the traditional St. Nicholas Day by distributing his gifts on the night of 5th December. Children do not hang stockings, but instead leave their shoes and slippers by the fireplace. Père Noël is assisted by the evil Père Fouettard (Father Whipper) who informs him as to which children have been good and which ones behaved badly during the year.

the years, one version of this story has the windows barred, forcing Nicholas to hurl the coins down the chimney, landing in the girl’s stockings which had been hung up to dry!

Joulupukki, Finland Joulupukki, with his origins in the pagan Nordic shaman tradition of people dressing up in animal disguises, was once a symbol of fertility and a frightening figure as opposed to the Santa we know and love.

Also known as ‘Yule Goat’, he was an evil creature who didn’t bring presents and demanded that children behave, so winter festivals were held to keep him away. Thankfully, Joulupukki went from being naughty to nice.

The North Pole or Lapland?

Some people say that Santa lives at the North Pole. In Finland, they say that he lives in the north part of their country called Lapland.

However you know him, the myths and legends meld into one and we all welcome the generous and magical character into our homes every Christmas.

The Magic Key By the way, if you are concerned about how Santa delivers presents to homes without a chimney, it’s simple! He has a magic key that he uses to get into houses and apartments and he also uses the same key where the chimneys are too small for him to fit down.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Hoteiosho or Santa-san (Mr Santa), Japan

La Befana, Italy Historically La Befana, the Christmas Witch, gave gifts to children during Epiphany Eve on the night of the 5th January. She was portrayed as an old hag who travelled on a broomstick wearing a black shawl, more akin to the way we think of a witch, entering homes through the chimney, leaving sweets and gifts for children who had been good and soot or a lump of coal for those who had been bad. Nowadays, Babbo Natale, the Italian equivalent of Father Christmas, is becoming more popular and leaves his gifts on Christmas Eve.

Papá Noel, Spain

Hoteiosho is a Japanese god of good fortune with eyes in the back of his head which he uses to know when children are naughty or nice. Santa-san is more like the Western version of Santa as we know him and some children prefer to receive their gifts from Santa-san because they are scared of Hoteiosho.

Traditionally, Father Christmas wasn’t celebrated in December but nowadays Spanish children receive some gifts from Papá Noel on Christmas Eve, but they receive their main presents from the Three Kings (Los Reyes Magos) on the 6th January, the Feast of the Epiphany. Children are encouraged to write to the Three Kings in the same way that ours write to Father Christmas.

Julenisse, Norway Nisse come from the Norwegian forest and live in attics and stables. They are a part of Norwegian culture and often look like a cross between a gnome and Santa Claus – particularly at Christmas time. Based on the German legend of St. Nicholas, the Norwegian Julenisse is the patron saint of children and seamen. Julenisse was known for his kindness toward children, and on Christmas Eve kids leave a bowl of porridge out for him to eat. During the night, he hides presents throughout the house.

Yule Lads, Iceland Very different from the Santa we know, the Yule Lads (also known as Yulemen) are based on historical Icelandic folklore figures who were the sons of Gryla, their mother and Leppaludi, their father, who were trolls that lived in the mountains. The Yule Lads would descend from the mountains to prank or scare children who misbehaved and were accompanied by Yule Cat, a beast which would eat children who did not get new Christmas clothes. In modern Iceland, the Yule Lads are depicted as 13 men who travel around the country during Christmas, offering gifts to children who have behaved well.

Ded Moroz, Russia The Russian Santa is known as Ded Moroz, or Grandfather Frost, but most English speakers simply call him ‘Father Frost’. Unmistakably Russian in appearance and attitude, he dresses in a similar fashion to Santa Claus, although he is taller and more slender in appearance and wears Russian-style coats in red, icy blue, silver, or gold, lined or trimmed with white fur. He carries a magical staff and never goes anywhere without his granddaughter Sengurochka, the Snow Maiden. They deliver gifts on New Year’s Eve, leaving them under the festive fir Christmas tree for children to discover in the morning.

USA You may have heard Santa being referred to as ‘Kris Kringle’ in films originating from America. Dutch settlers in the USA took the old stories of St. Nicholas with them and Kris Kringle and St Nicholas became ‘Sinterklaas’ or as we now say ‘Santa Claus’.

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Noel Baba, Turkey As mentioned above, Myra in Asia Minor, now modern day Turkey, was the home of the inspiration for Father Christmas. According to legend, a shopkeeper was too poor to supply his daughters with dowries. When Noel Baba (Saint Nicholas) heard of their plight, he threw three bags of gold into the house through the windows, saving the daughters from being sold into slavery. Retold many times over

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Mikulas, Hungary Mikulas is celebrated as a historical familiar similar to Saint Nicolas in many countries in Central Europe including Hungary where it originated. According to folklore, Mikulas accompanied by his assistants, visits homes on December 5th every year where children are awarded gifts and candy for their good behaviour while children who haven’t behaved well receive a wooden spoon or pieces of raw potatoes or lumps of coal from Mikulas’ mean assistant, Krampusz.

Here in Gibraltar, as well as welcoming Father Christmas to our homes on Christmas Eve, we also celebrate with the Three Kings Cavalcade when the Magi: Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthasar, ride through the streets on floats as their page boys throw sweets to the children.

Following the Spanish Christmas tradition, children may also receive gifts in the first week of January.

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MOTORING INSIGHT OVER 4.7 MILLION MITSUBISHI PICK-UPS HAVE BEEN SOLD GLOBALLY SINCE ITS DEBUT IN 1978, AND THIS HAS HELPED IT BECOME A SOMEWHAT LEGENDARY TRUCK. The all-new L200 Series 6 builds on 40 years of heritage and this new version adds so much more, in all departments.

The Kingdom of Fife was the place Mitsubishi chose for the press and dealer event, where it was given plenty of opportunities to test it.

The L200 is basically a truck, a workhorse, a go-anywhere vehicle, and that is how most people see it.

It’s a truck.

But Mitsubishi have now got a truck, that is very car like. It is car-like in the way it drives, is comfortable, and the engine is extremely quiet. In fact, it is a perfect example of straddling the transition between what you’d expect from a car and what you’d need from a truck.

The new L200 has had a major make-over with the exterior design, it has some crisp, clean and bold lines that run down the side. Gone is the ‘slab’ sided truck, it now actually has some nice swathe lines, very car-like. It gets a new ‘clam-style’ bonnet, new light, grille, in fact from the windscreen forward, is brand new. The wheel-arches are now ‘squared-off’ and now house new 18-inch wheels, which are now standard on some models.

The interior is also new, and again it is car-like, the quality, fit and finish is certainly as good as an up-market saloon, or SUV. We had a few driving activities during the day at Knockhill Circuit, everyone had a colour-coded lanyard and we were guided from one experience to the next. First off was the rally cross course, something normally reserved for high performance off-roaders.

So, it seemed a little strange for a pick-up to take on this particular challenge. But it went round it, like it was on rails. It handled perfectly and kept well and truly stuck to the surface. Be it tarmac, gravel, grass or mud - it just didn’t flinch.

Next activity was towing, not my favourite pastime. We had to pull a tri-axle (6-wheel) trailer, with another L200 on it. Round cones, round a roundabout, then the bit I was dreading, reversing into a space. Admittedly my first attempt wasn’t the finest, but a bit of forwards, and backwards, and forwards and backwards I did finally

make it in between the cones. But towing did prove it had more than enough power. The L200 will tow 3.5 tonnes with a tri-axle and 3.1 tonnes with single or double axles. One thing I did learn though was the L200 has a Gross Vehicle Weight of 2035kg, so it’s treated like a car for speed limits while here in the UK. If it was to weigh over 2040kg, then it is a commercial vehicle, and different speed limits apply, such as in a 60mph zone, it can only do 50mph.

After the towing, it was to the Knockhill off-road course. This pick-up and all the years Mitsubishi have been producing it has given it some of the best systems in the industry. We went up slippery slopes, down slippery slopes, over rocks, boulders, gravel, wet grass, and into a small river, and it just did everything you asked it to do. All you had to do

was point it in the right direction, and it did the rest. I could go on about its 30-degree approach angle, hill descent control, Super-Select 4WD-2 system, 4LLc low-ratio, locked differential, traction and stability control systems, and so on. All you need you know is it all works.

After the activities at Knockhill it was out on the open road around Fife, and some glorious scenery, and even better views as you are sat high up. After seeing its off-road capabilities, we were expecting it to be a bit agricultural in its ride, but no, as the good people at Mitsubishi had kept telling us, it was, and here we go again, it was car-like, so comfortable. And don’t tell the good people at Mitsubishi, but we did aim for every pot-hole we could find, to try and catch the L200 out, hoping it would feel like a tractor as it hit the rough surfaces, but it didn’t, just rode over them and you hardly felt anything. Don’t know how the designers and engineers have done it, but they have certainly got it right.

We were following the sat-nav, that was being operated from a mobile phone using Apple CarPlay. Many manufacturers are using this, along with Android Auto, to integrate into the more traditional and make-specific touch-screen interface in their vehicles.

The new L200 is powered by a 2,268cc 4-cylinder turbo-diesel that produces 150ps, and is available with either a 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic.

Five models are on offer: 4Life Club Cab priced at £21,515, Double Cab at £22715, Warrior Double Cab £26,400 Manual / £27,800 Automatic. Barbarian Double Cab £29,300 Manual / £30,700 Auto. Barbarian X Double Cab Auto £32,200 – this top of the range truck is fully loaded with specification and standard features. These are UK list prices. .

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MOTORING INSIGHT

This review took me to Majorca for the second time in as many weeks. The island remains one of the most popular destinations with motor manufacturers to launch new cars. It’s easy to get to from most places in Europe, the roads are good, The T-Cross is Volkswagens first ever and there’s a plentiful supply compact SUV, to put it into context, of hotels, especially out and how it fits in the model line-up, of season. it measures 4,107mm and a height of 1,558mm. This compares to the Polo at 4,053mm long and 1,461mm tall. The T-Cross big brother, the T-Roc is 4,234mm and 1,573mm high. So, the T-Cross fits nicely in between the two.

On these International events, they normally last a couple of weeks, with many rotations of countries, who fly in one day, stay overnight, and back home the next. On our two days, there was the UK, joined

by Japan, South Africa and Slovakia, so a mixed bunch, but all very friendly, especially those from Johannesburg, and surrounding area, great fun people.

The one and only complaint about the T-Cross was the fact that

Only one engine will be available at launch, a 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder petrol, with the option of two power outputs: 95ps or 115ps.

The cars were all neatly lined up outside the airport in the sunshine and ready to go … the first we drove was the higher powered 1.0-litre 115ps, coupled to a 7-speed DSG auto gearbox, a very nice combination. We set off from Palma, and almost immediately thought what a great little car this was. We could almost have got back on the plane an hour later, firmly believing we had driven it enough to know just how good it was.

when the rear seat was in the rear-most position, and it was then folded down, there was no gap between the rear floor and the seat. But slide the seat forward, and a gap appeared, and quite a large gap too.

So if you don’t want to lose anything under the floor, you need to remember to slide the seat back, before you put the rear seat down.

The exterior design is great, with some fantastic lines, not only the styling, but also the clever engineering and metal pressing. The curves are crisp, sharp and really make the car look superb.

But we drove around two-hours in a northerly direction towards the hotel on the north-east side of the Island. A great journey, with great roads, and even better scenery, and places most people who visit Majorca never see, or know about. Go inland and it really is spectacular.

The 115ps engine was well within its comfort zone, and had more than enough power for all the road conditions we went on: dual carriageways, where it happily cruised at 130kph, up in the hills, and through the pretty little villages.

For a small car, measuring around 4.1m, it certainly has plenty of leg, shoulder and headroom. The boot is more than adequate and with the rear seat up can carry 455-litres, and fold them down and it increases to 1,281-litres. It also has the advantage of a sliding rear seat can be moved back-and -forth by 14cm, allowing either more leg room, or more boot space.

After a bit of lunch, we got into a 115ps 6-speed manual, and we really liked this combination as well, and this is likely to be the best seller. It is priced around £700 more than the 95ps, and you do get that extra bit of power, but also an extra gear too.

The second day, and it was the journey back to Palma airport. We managed to secure a 95ps T-Cross, as these did seem to be in demand. We did think it would feel underpowered compared to the 115ps, but it didn’t really feel much different. In fact, it really was very good, with enough power for the type of driving we were doing. Having a 5-speed manual wasn’t really an issue, as the top gear was fairly high, and it did not feel as though the engine was screaming its head off, high-ish speeds at fairly low revs.

This got us thinking again, after making our minds up that the 115ps was the one to have the previous day, now we were unsure. The 95ps does everything you want it to, and is slightly cheaper. Decisions, decisions ...

The model line-up at launch will be the familiar S, SE, SEL and R-Line trims. This will be complimented by a 250 car run known as the ‘First-Edition’. The only list price available for this particular one is the UK one - £23,150 OTR. Initially the vast majority of T-Cross sold will be petrol powered, and all will be front-wheel drive. In Majorca, there were some 1.6TDI there to test, but based on current demand for diesel powered cars, we did not drive the TDI.

WORDS BY MARTIN WARD GIBRALTARINSIGHT.COM

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FEATURE

A

VICTORIA

CROSS HOLDER IN GIBRALTAR WORDS BY PAUL BAKER

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FEATURE

A RECENT REDISCOVERY HAS BEEN MADE OF THE GRAVE BELONGING TO THOMAS HENRY KAVANAGH VC. WHO IS BURIED IN NORTH FRONT CEMETERY. THE STORY SURFACED WHEN DAVID EVESON, OUR CHAIRMAN, FOUND THE HEADSTONE DURING A VISIT THERE AFTER BEING HANDED THE INFORMATION BY AN EX ROYAL ENGINEER GEORGE COLEING.. HE FOUND THE GRAVE IN A STATE OF DISREPAIR AND THOUGHT SOMETHING SHOULD BE DONE TO PUT IT IN ORDER. THIS OF COURSE LED TO THE QUESTION OF WHAT HE WAS DOING IN GIBRALTAR. INEVITABLY THE FIRST PLACE TO ASK WAS OUR FONT OF ALL KNOWLEDGE, LORNA SWIFT OF THE GARRISON LIBRARY WHO IN TRUE FORM GAVE US A FILE WHICH HAD BEEN PREPARED IN 1987 AND HELD IN THE LIBRARY. The following account is a compilation of that information and some obtained from the internet.

Kavanagh, was of course, Irish, born in Mullinger, County Westmeath on the 15th of July 1821. Following the completion of his education in his home country, he joined the Indian Civil Service around 1849 where he joined Sir Henry Lawrence, the Chief Commissioner of Oudh in the Punjab and became a member of its Commission. He married Agnes Courtney in Cownpore where she stayed while he and Sir Lawrence went to Lucknow. Later she decided to follow her husband. In June 1857 in the Indian Mutiny reached the town and the Residency in that city was besieged. The family was trapped with four of their children. The youngest, Cecil died and his mother was injured by a shell.

Sir Lawrence with 1500 troops, half of them loyal Bengal Sepoys, fortified the area and stockpiled food and supplies. The first attack on the residence came on July the 4th 1857. Sir Lawrence was killed soon after and his place taken by Colonel John Inglis of the 32nd (Cornwall) Regiment of Foot.

On the 20th of September, a relief column of two thousand troops under General Outram and Havelock was sent but soon they were outnumbered, surrounded they entrenched themselves near the Residence. Having brought no food, they were dependant on they residency, who themselves were short..

By November the situation had become extremely critical and could only hold out if resupplied from Cownpore . They were down to a few days’ supplies and getting desperate when Sir Colin Campbell, set out with troops to fight his way to the Residency. At this point Kavanagh volunteered to disguise himself as an Indian and find a way though the mutineers in order to guide these troops to the Residency. With great bravery and without the knowledge of his wife, accompanied by a Brahmin servant, on the 9th of November they managed to get through the road blocks and entered the British lines.

The success of his arrival was semaphored from the Alambagh, in the suburbs of Lucknow at which time his wife was told of his exploits.

He was able to lead the troops back to the residency by the 16th. The troops were able to control the situation long enough for the British to withdraw and on the 18th. (or 22nd ) of November the British flag was taken down and the town given over to the mutineers.

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The town was recaptured by Campbell in March with the aid of Ghurkas supplied by the king of Nepal.

In 1858 the British East India Company was dissolved and the British Government took over the reigns of Government.

On the 6th of July 1859, Kavanagh was awarded the Victoria Cross. This award was instituted by Queen Victoria in June 1857. Kavanagh is one of only five civilians ever to be awarded this prestigious medal.

He later became a Deputy District Commissioner.

He returned to England but at the end of October 1882, sailed on board the SS Khedive for Bombay.

The ship arrived in Gibraltar on the 3rd of November but Kavanagh was taken seriously ill and was put ashore and taken to the Station Hospital where he was put in the hands of the Surgeon General Smith, CB at the request of the Governor.

His illness took a turn for the worse and died on November 13th. A service was held at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity at 3.30pm the same day, conducted by the Archdeacon Govett. His body was then carried to his final resting place accompanied by 200 military personnel from the 1st Battalion Loyal Lancashire North Regiment and members of all the other services including Major General C Adams CB. Six Majors from each of the RA, RE and Infantry Regiments formed the pall bearers. Lady Napier of Magdala and Kavanagh’s daughter, Mrs Maynard and the Governor attended the Burial.

In the records of the King’s Chapel, James Kavanagh is recorded as Commissioner of Oudh, but with the rank of Major. There is no record of his ever been in the military but this was probably an honourable rank. His grandson, Major A B M Kavanagh, served in Gibraltar in the 1st Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regiment between 1953 and 1955.

It is understood that the war Graves Commission provided a new headstone in the 1980’s but since then the site has again deteriorated.

The Gibraltar Heritage Trust is now looking to repair the grave again.

A local expert in headstone restoration has been engaged to repair the damage which has been kindly sponsored by Isola Brothers.

Article supplied by History Society Gibraltar.

Email: historysocietygibraltar@hotmail.com

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STEVEN MASCARENHAS

Gibraltars Reggae Ambassador When Bob Marley died, he and his friend cried in school when the duty playground master broke the news... his whole world came tumbling down! Later, at home, “I played the Reggae King nonstop!” Gib’s top Reggae fan declares!

WORDS BY RICHARD CARTWRIGHT GIBRALTARINSIGHT.COM

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FEATURE “We were teased by Rock music fans as they stood watching us with teary eyes,” Steven recalls. That was at Bayside Comprehensive, but his love of reggae began when he was at St Anne’s School. Posters of his idol - Bob Marley - were plastered on his bedroom wall. “Of course that’s not the case anymore but I do have my denim jacket with reggae stars’ emblems, badges and patches - especially some of Bob Marley which I wear proudly on occasions. And I remember in the early days we couldn’t buy reggae music on the Rock and at discos the scene was essentially disco with acts like the Bee Gees, Gloria Gaynor and other disco stars of that era in the mid 70s, and eventually we started buying reggae records and CDs from Cohen’s, a shop tucked away at the beginning of Main Street.”

Over time different genres of the `pop’ music world come and go and many of those different styles are heard on the radio or are downloaded by any preferred category enthusiasts, even 50s and early 60s Rock `n’ Roll music pops up every now and then. We have Heavy Rock, Soft Rock, Tamla Motown, Adult Contemporary, Middle of the Road and all the Psychedelic, Punk, Garage, Grunge, Acid Rock styles and so many others hitting the music scene - not forgetting the forever popular Mainstream of course - which have penetrated our radio speakers and ear phones and head sets, sometimes to the annoyance of our elders. But I think it’s fair to say that on the Rock, reggae has been a constant whether performed by visiting artists or local groups and artists. It’s been played on the radio since the 70s when Bob Marley came in with a bang! Festivals and concerts are not in short supply either as `Crucial Steve’ (alias Steven Mascarenhas) verifies.

Our very own reggae man has attended any amount of reggae festivals and concerts and has met most of the world’s top reggae stars (if not all) and worked with some of them too. ”Yes, my biggest regret is not having seen, or better still, met `main man Bob’ himself before he passed and Peter Tosh too, but I’ve been to events in Jamaica many times, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Miami, London, Madrid, Amsterdam, Paris, Cologne and on Caribbean cruises like the Jamrock Reggae cruise and the Love & Harmony’ Cruise with the next one coming up in April next year.”

He’s been to Kaya Festivals where the Marley Brothers (Bob’s sons) performed in 2017 and the Reggae Sumfest and Sunsplash festivals.

A reggae night at the Hollywood Bowl in the US was also attended, Jamaica’s Independence Day (its 57th) concert and he’s also admired Bob Marley’s `Hollywood Walk of Fame’ star in California. Some of the festivals have kept going although there was a bit of a dip when Marley died but now even in Japan the festivals prevail and Steven, the Rock’s biggest reggae music lover and hardcore fan, has also toured with a couple of the genre’s top bands and stars like Steel Pulse, Third World and Maxi Priest, assisting the tour managers in the UK, France, Holland and Spain. His knowledge of the reggae scene is undoubtedly second to none. “Well I’ve seen so many of them perform and met some of them too or listened to so many others on vinyl, cassette in the car, or on CD,” and that, I would say, is understated: Eddy Grant, Black Uhuru, Dennis Brown, The Wailers, Inner Circle and many more, prominent in the reggae world but not so familiar to you, me and the man in the street. “At some of these events it’s not unusual to be practically the only white individual in the crowd witnessing a fantastic atmosphere. The rhythm is catchy and hypnotic producing cool vibes for all present.”

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On the Rock, reggae has played an important part of the music scene too, there have always been one, two or more exponents of the `Marley movement’ and reggae fans are plentiful also. “The first reggae band on the Rock as I remember was Wisdom Bane and now, Heritage and Rastaman Rock, Don Spider, Sister Dee, DJ Rookie and others are all reggae acts jamming up the style. At the Gibraltar Music Festivals (GMF) and other concerts on the Rock, reggae music guests have included UB 40, Inner Circle, Third World, Aswad, Shaggy and Maxi Priest. “A couple of them have been here twice and I’ve been responsible for bringing over two or three of those acts for my own shows and also been asked to come in as a consultant at a GMF.” However since another production company has been running the main festival - now labelled `Gibraltar Calling,’ - no reggae acts have been booked. Reggae DJ and promoter David Roddigan, popular and listened to in Gibraltar on BFBS radio, became friends with Steven and attended shows here and in the UK together. Our committed and dedicated fan of Jamaican popular music is everywhere, even attending a reggae beat show in the Royal Albert Hall, of all venues! Wherever and whenever reggae appears, Steven’s there. His craving for, `all things reggae’ is insatiable! A Third World member called him the Gibraltar Reggae Ambassador and he’s proud of that.

Bob Marley is clearly his favourite and muchloved idol. He’s been to Jamaica 22 times and visited the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston as well as trekking up the hill five or six times no less, to Marley’s home - `Nine Miles’ which is now a mausoleum.

There are more concerts to visit abroad and events to organise here on the Rock I’m sure, and that includes popping off to the Caribbean for yet another, `Love & Harmony’ cruise for `Crucial Steve’ (alias Steven Mascarenhas) where he’ll make sure one of the bands will play his favourite Bob Marley track, EXODUS... sail away and enjoy!

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A PET IS FOR LIFE

NOT FOR CHRISTMAS Article by Mark Pizarro

Now the festive season approaches there is an unwavering desire amongst some people to acquire a pet either for themselves or for a family member. This article is written not to deter people but produced in an effort to try and prevent impulse purchases, to try and make individuals more aware of the ramifications and responsibilities of taking on an animal.

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rimarily what must be realised is that acquiring an animal, any living creature, immediately makes you responsible for that animal’s care, quality of life and survival. The principal animal charities at this time of year carry articles on dogs and cats primarily; unfortunately this is only a drop in the ocean. How many people purchase birds, aquarium fish, hamsters, reptiles, guinea pigs etc?

How many of these actually die in the first few months due to neglect?

Before getting a pet, you should always ask yourselves a few pertinent questions.

1) Do you have the time to look after the animal? All animals require time spent on them, animal cages need cleaning, aquariums need cleaning , dogs have to be walked regularly, cat’s litter trays have to be cleaned out regularly, vivariums need to be monitored for warmth/humidity, etc ,etc. After the novelty wears off and the excitement ears off you still need to find the time, these animals are dependent on you. You have taken the responsibility of looking after a living breathing creature and they are totally dependent on you for their survival.

2) Does the pet require any special care? The most common cause of death I have encountered amongst animals over all my years of practice has been bad animal husbandry. I have seen dying reptiles bought into the clinic dying of starvation, primarily out of ignorance, where the animal has been fed the wrong diet or the temperature of the vivarium has been too low resulting in the animal not been able to digest its food.

3) Can I afford to keep a pet? Animals are a continual drain on resources, they will need money spent on them throughout their lives, they are not a computer game that after the festive period is left unused in a cupboard!! Different animals carry varied financial burdens, but this must be quantified. Even different sized animals carry dramatically different costs, a Chihuahua will eat less and medication will be significantly less than a larger breed like a Great Dane. All dogs need to be registered and licensed, an additional cost of £25 per annum per pet on top of the initial £30 registration cost. So before getting an animal please make sure you can afford the maintenance costs.

will be around for and that you will be responsible for them throughout their lives.

5) How large will the pet become? The most extreme cases that I have seen are individuals that have purchased small pigs that supposedly were supposed to be ‘miniature’ and remain small. If anyone is interested pop over to the Wildlife Park at the Alameda gardens and see how miniature a couple of these pigs have become!!!

Another very sad case that I have witnessed is one where an iguana became too large and was released into the Nature Reserve, if was bought into the clinic dead as it had starved to death. On this note I would like to add that releasing an animal into the wild is beyond the pale, apart from the fact that it might die, it could in theory survive and put pressure on native species.

6) Can I give the pet the care and love it requires? Obviously different pets will need different levels of attention. For example, a hand reared parrot will needs countless hours of your family time, otherwise they will develop medical problems brought on by stress. In fact a lot of medical conditions can be as a result of lack of attention, it is not enough to just feed and clean your animal.

Getting a pet for Christmas carries loads of caveats , these are living creatures that will be dependent on yourselves for their survival, so getting a pet carries loads of responsibility and you must be aware of this and prepared to take this on.

Saying all this I hope I haven’t sounded too negative, I personally have a bit of a menagerie at home, pets can give you a lot of pleasure and happiness , but please look have them. Have yourselves a Merry Xmas and prosperous New Year.

For any information please phone the Gibraltar Vetinary Clinic on 200 77334.

4) How long can the animal live for?

Remember once you have a pet you are in it for the long haul. You might buy a rabbit for your child , this rabbit could live for 10 years, your child might be married and have his own kid before the rabbit passes away!! Parrots can live for decades as can tortoises!! My point here is that make sure you are aware of how long these animals 66

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FEATURE PAUL ANDERSON IS AN ARTS BROADCASTER, RADIO PRESENTER, PRODUCER AND JOURNALIST. HE’S KNOWN FOR WORK ON BBC 6 MUSIC, XFM, CAPITAL AS WELL AS HOSTING HIS OWN ONE-HOUR FILM SHOW ‘AT THE MOVIES’ ON SMOOTH RADIO. PAUL IS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE LONDON FILM CRITIC’S CIRCLE. FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER @AFILMGUY.

A veritable jamboree bag of cinematic delights awaits you this festive season so let’s take a browse through some of the highlights.

No doubting the biggest and most anticipated film of this christmas…

If you like a movie with an all-star cast, Then be sure to catch...

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER This is episode nine in the saga and if you believe the trailer the final one. The film has a bladder worrying 155-minute runtime, that’s 2 hours and 35 minutes to you and me.

Originally, Episode nine was set to be released in the summer but maybe the Christmas market for double lightsabres was just too overwhelming.

The title is also a bit of a mystery as the Skywalker in question could a number of people.

If they ever do a Star Wars Who Do You Think You Are, there would never be enough time. For a start it could be Rey as her parents are still a mystery to us all; remember as Kylo Ren said in the Last Jedi, that her parents amounted to nothing. But it could also be him, because he is after all Luke’s nephew. We are promised that the mystery of the mum and dad who allegedly sold Rey for drinking money. One thing for certain is that evil Senator Palpatine or Darth Sidious is returning played with delicious glee by Ian McDiarmid.

THE GOOD LIAR: 15 Ageing conman Roy Courtenay played by Sir Ian McKellen strikes lucky online when he meets wealthy widow Betty McLeish played by Helen Mirren.

Roy is a man who lives to deceive—and everything about Betty suggests she’s an easy mark. He’s confident that his scheme to swindle her will be a success. Sure enough, Betty soon lets Roy move into her beautiful home, seemingly blind to the web of lies he’s woven around her. Russell Tovey also stars as Betty’s suspicious Grandson Stephen, and Jim Carter as Roy’s accomplice.

Next up a proper Christmas thriller...

KNIVES OUT: 12A Highly successful crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday. And so, begins a Cluedo meets Christie tale with the enigmatic and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc, (Daniel Craig) with a less than successful southern

USA accent. Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan’s untimely death. This one has a shiny cast including; Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, the never knowingly not brilliant Michael Shannon Toni Colette and Don Johnson. Lots of plot holes, misdirection and twisty turny scenes to keep you guessing until the end.

21 BRIDGES: 15 Chadwick Boseman plays the disgraced, overworked and embattled NYPD detective Andre Davis who is thrust into a citywide manhunt for a pair of cop killers after uncovering a massive and unexpected conspiracy that links the cops themselves with a criminal empire. Lines become blurred on who he is chasing, and who is chasing him. When the search intensifies, extreme measures are taken to prevent the killers from escaping and all 21 Bridges in the city are closed to prevent any entry or exit from Manhattan that includes trains, tunnels the lot.

Plenty of variety for the festive season grab your popcorn and enjoy. Until next time I’m Paul Anderson and I’ll see you at the movies.

Plenty of variety for the festive season grab your popcorn and enjoy. Until next time I’m Paul Anderson and I’ll see you at the movies

Download and subscribe to th e Gibraltar Insigh t: At The Movies – av ailable on both Apple Podcasts and Spot ify, and smart speakers.

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STILL BLOWING SWEETLY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS

JOHN VICTOR WAS FEELING ‘BURNT OUT’ IN 1985 AFTER THE SPANISH RECORD DEAL FIZZLED OUT BUT HE JOINED JADE UNTIL THE EARLY NINETIES WHEN HIS DOMESTIC LIFE WAS STARTING TO UNRAVEL. AT THE BEHEST OF HIS THEN IN-LAWS HE TURNED TO RELIGION AND EMBARKED ON A CATHOLIC ‘CURSILLO’ WEEKEND. IT WAS AND STILL IS AN INTENSIVE AND EMOTIONALLY CHARGED THREE DAY CRASH COURSE IN REBUILDING A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. “THAT HAD QUITE AN IMPACT ON ME AND A COUPLE OF YEARS LATER I ALSO DID A CHARISMATIC RENEWAL RETREAT. THAT ONE LED TO MY CONTINUED INVOLVEMENT WITH THIS RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT FOR MANY YEARS - ESPECIALLY ON THE MUSIC SIDE.”

now 6 grandchildren and the extra motivation to come back and spend time with them has led to us thinking seriously about resettling back to the Rock.”

“I still play in Gibraltar during my holiday visits - especially in the ‘Jazz nights’ at the Elliot Hotel. I have played here with Elie Massias (legendary ex-pat Jazz guitarist based in New York) a few years ago. That was a great night of music! This September, I was invited to sit in at a ‘Levanter Breeze’ rehearsal. I believe they would like to have me play with them, if I was to return to live in Gib. It’s definitely the kind of music I like to do!”

Plans to return here are on hold now for a couple of years because of their Canadian pensions issues. Although Marcia survived a life threatening brain aneurysm (a few years ago) and is back to being her old self, nowadays she does tire easily and the couple have had to readjust their lives accordingly. While they still plan to come back there are a number of issues still to iron out here –accommodation is high on their list.

Part 2 “I remember the late great Tony Mifsud (bass player and harmony singer) joining us and we agreed to impart our musical wisdom to others in a new music ministry. Without losing our focus on God, we managed to transform that little group of musicians into something quite special - especially in arrangements and harmonies. We were both humble and selective and our hard work rewarded me with fond memories from that period.”

The late nineties were to be dark years for John Victor and his family, an acrimonious divorce took its toll and suddenly life generally became very complicated.”It left me very depressed and affected all areas of my life - work, music, my faith and more. Although we had completed the first UK tour with ‘Vibrations’, by the time the second tour came around I wasn’t in the right mindset nor in a good place to do it. Although I didn’t like it at the time, with hindsight, I agree it was their right thing to do to drop me. It was only meant to be a temporary musical hiatus but with me immigrating to Canada and with the death of William Gomez just a few months later – ‘Vibrations’ folded and that was that.”

Talking about the split recently to Victor Francis drummer with Vibrations at the time, he concurs with that account and added that meeting Marcia his future life partner was the best thing that happened to John and ‘in reality she saved his life.’ John himself says that the hand of God played a huge part in what he considers was being rescued and set on the right path again-albeit far away from home in another continent. After a chance meeting on line they have been happily married for twenty years now.

“It was difficult to leave my kids but the move to Canada was the right move as I did a tremendous amount of healing out there and ended a more mature, wiser, and stronger person. Looking back it almost seems like another life! Marcia and I have been back here every few years and I maintain a good relationship with my kids. There are

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John was quite musically active during the first five years in Canada - very involved in church music and teaching at summer music camps. Because of where they live, rural south western Ontario, there is a lot of country music influence and limited opportunities for him. “I would need to live in Toronto for example, to find what I like to do with my music. I do still get together with a group of like-minded musicians occasionally to play what can only be termed as ‘Avant Garde Jazz’. Over the years we’ve done a few performances and recordings.”

The recordings don’t just happen. John is a dab hand at recording and produces music to high technical standards being a creative and talented flautist and vocalist.

“Fortunately I have a practice/recording studio set up in our basement. That’s one of the advantages of having a big house with grounds! That way I keep my musical ‘chops’ up and also record demos and the occasional transatlantic collaboration with Brian (local keyboard wizard Brian Torres of ‘Levanter Breeze’). We did all the music for my daughter’s wedding.”

Their version of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ was such a success that they were persuaded by friends, family and fans to record it properly, as their ultimate transatlantic collaboration. “Brian did the backing tracks here and in Canada I added many overdubs of vocals, harmonies, flutes and recorder.” Since I have had to listen to this great piece of work I have to commend it to our readers because it stands out as something special. This was John Victor’s calling card for his family and something he can proudly tell his grandchildren about in the future.

As the song’s arrangement builds up to a great climax you can feel the love and the rich outpouring of music that this local prodigy has offered up in ‘Halleluyah.’ This ‘soon-to-be again’ local resident who has had to overcome many odds in order to keep God, music, sanity and love at the centre of a complex life well lived, keeps very much in touch with all of the music fraternity here (through social media) and in their name I offer him and Marcia an early welcome back and a happy retirement here.

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SINCE 1942 WHEN COMPOSER IRVING BERLIN WROTE ‘WHITE CHRISTMAS’ THE SONG HAS SOLD OVER FIFTY MILLION COPIES AND COUNTING. BING CROSBY, PERHAPS THE GREATEST CROONER OF THEM ALL, ADDED HIS DULCET TONES TO A FILM VERSION IN 1954 TO WHICH I REMEMBER BEING TAKEN TO WATCH BY OUR SCHOOL. THERE’S SOMETHING TO BE SAID ABOUT SEASONAL SENTIMENTAL MUSIC THAT SEES THE SAME OLD CHRISTMAS SONG CATALOGUE ACHIEVE COMMERCIAL SUCCESS YEAR ON YEAR. Mariah Carey has made sixty million dollars (source The Economist) from her hit ‘All I want for Christmas is You’ which has spent many weeks at number one and still charts every year since the song was released in 1994. You might like to know that she wrote the song in fifteen minutes and then you may want to ask yourself whether you could use your spare time in a better way and write the next big Christmas hit. You have probably seen the new Walkers crisps TV commercial which features her and the now classic song with the shrill high note that breaks glasses. That TV ‘crispy’ number will garner yet more Christmas fortunes for her and so it is with other seasonal tunes which we all love or exceptionally love to hate.

‘I wish it could be Christmas everyday’ released by Wizzard in 1973 became an instant classic because it featured singing schoolchildren tugging at our heartstrings and Roy Wood, its writer and founding member of ELO, as the song’s talented singer who pulled out all the stops. He had always wanted to write a ‘proper’ Rock’n’Roll Christmas song which celebrated “let the bells ring out for Christmas” and they did and the cash registers also rang out too, but one fresh look (if you dare) at the song’s colourful video and you will agree that it’s an uplifting piece of yuletide happiness and it deserves to be a classic. Although it was pipped to number one by Slade, Roy Wood is currently thought to be worth nearly four million dollars... just saying.

Also in 1973, ‘Slade’s’ frontman Noddy Holder was screaming ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ and beat Roy Wood to the number one spot in the UK charts and stayed there for nine weeks and has since sold over a million copies. Quite a tidy nest egg you would have thought but he has had to review his pension plans because in the age of in-

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stant downloads not everyone (indeed few) pays for downloaded music. Notwithstanding the slump in sales the song is still reputed to earn a cool million pounds in royalties each year!

Don’t lose any sleep for ‘Slade’ or Noddy Holder just yet because the royalties for playing the song on radio, TV and public performances still accrue every year and even if sales are down these Christmas classics get played and covered many times each festive season. Robbie Williams now wants to dethrone ‘King Of Christmas’ Michael Buble and is alleged to have said that “this must stop now” while in another breath claiming to be ‘very good friends’ with the Canadian crooner who has over thirty million album sales under his belt and won a ‘Juno Award’ for album of the year 2011, his first festive album titled ‘Christmas’ (what else?).

Robbie has teamed up with big guns Rod Stewart, Bryan Adams and Jamie Cullum in order to spice up the competition for the best selling Christmas album this year. Will Michael Buble be dethroned or will he come back with another festive winner to wipe out his ‘friend’? I don’t think we need to worry about that because we will all be winners as Christmas albums compete with each other for that golden touch which always ensures that the Christmas music market remains alive and kicking and the money spinning record industry across the Globe will sing to the tune of cash registers’ cashin! cashin!

This Christmas give some music to your loved ones and as I always say breathe music because it’s cleaner than air and it’s good for the heart.

Treat yourselves to a wonderful Christmas time and hopefully a great new year too. Till next time...

Ciao.

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ON THE SPOT

JOHN CHARLES GUY LOCAL ACTOR, SINGER, ENTERTAINER Where did you first start your employment?

“As a cadet in the Gibraltar Police, then to constable.”

How would you describe yourself?

“Loving, friendly, a showman.”

Which person has been the biggest influence in your life?

“My parents, and Mario Arroyo, my teacher for their understanding and love.”

What’s the best book you’ve ever read? “‘The Grand Design.’” by Stephen Hawking. It gave me the understanding of life, and reasons, and would recommend to anyone who questions life itself.”

Have you ever been given advice that you wished you had acted on?

tire, and enjoy my grandchildren more.”

“Yes, when I put my resignation in as a police officer and I was told by all who loved me not to do so.”

What’s the best country you’ve ever visited and why?

What’s the worst advice you’ve ever been given?

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

“People advise with the best of intentions, it can only be bad if that advice is acted upon wrongly.”

“Having a remote control which would mute people when I’m tired of listening to them.”

What makes you laugh?

“Children, their innocence and the things they say.”

What’s your greatest ambition?

“To be able to comfortably re-

“Malaysia for it’s natural beauty, its people and simplicity.”

“Rosanna, where’s the remote?”

Do you have any regrets?

“Yes many, but having left the Police and not finished my career, is the biggest, because it was a job I loved.”

What keeps you awake at night?

“Worrying about the health of my children.”

Have you had any embarrassing moments?

What’s the best experience you’ve had in life so far?

“Yes but not exactly me, I was singing in a musical in a packed house, the guy singing with me spat his false teeth out and they fell on the stage I could have died.”

“The birth of my children and watching my family grow, I have 6 granddaughters.”

If you didn’t live where you are currently located where would you like to Live?

(Money no object) “No place could replace Gibraltar but Malaysia or Thailand.”

What’s your favourite music track?

What person historic or living would you most like to meet?

“Songs and music, remind me of times and moments in my life, so any song which reminds me of happy times.”

“Nelson Mandela inspired and changed the world, what a legacy.”

What’s your biggest fear?

“The obvious answer is losing a loved one (my children), my fear is thinking we will not be together in another life or dimension.”

If you could change one thing about Gibraltar what would it be?

“It’s overbuilding and lack of affordable homes or government rentals for future generations.”

If you could change something about yourself, what would it be?

What is your favourite hobby or interest?

“Nothing, I am who I am, if I changed something it wouldn’t be me. Perhaps that I cry too much.”

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Which word or phrases do you most overuse?

“Theatre and singing is my passion. I sing with Paul Riley’s big band and I’m having the time of my life, I’m the last crooner on the Rock.”

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MUM ON THE ROCK

RESPECTING YOUR CHILD’S

Personal space

MANY OF US WILL REMEMBER BEING MADE TO KISS AN UNCLE OR AUNT GOODNIGHT AND SQUIRMING AT THE THOUGHT, AND WITH CHRISTMAS ON THE HORIZON THIS IS THE SEASON THAT DREDGES UP THOSE MEMORIES FOR SOME OF US OF BEING FORCED TO SIT ON SANTA’S LAP AND POSE FOR A PHOTO WHEN THAT WAS THE LAST THING WE WANTED TO DO. Respecting your child’s personal space and boundaries is a crucial part of teaching them how to protect themselves and how to keep safe in certain situations. This may put you in an awkward situation if your child refuses to return unwanted physical contact, but it is important to trust their instincts and to allow them to say ‘no’ when they feel uncomfortable. When they hesitate about giving someone a hug, whether a close relative or a friend, do you insist that they do so even if they told you they don’t want to?

Think about how you would feel if someone forced you to show affection to a person when you didn’t want to.

TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO RESPECT THEIR BODIES Empower your child with the right to say ‘no’ by teaching them that they are in charge of their own bodies and that it is not alright for someone to touch them in a way they don’t like. Let them know that their voice matters.

Transfer ownership to your child about what they want to do and what they feel comfortable with in any given situation.

Teaching your kids that they have a right to choose whether they want to sit on someone’s lap or to accept a hug shows that they can make their own decisions. When a child feels forced to show affection, they get the message that they are not in control of their own body, and that’s a dangerous message for them to receive.

Maybe your child goes on playdates or to a neighbour’s house. Maybe they take part in sporting activities or dance and drama sessions. The unsavoury truth is that you cannot fully prevent the risk of your child being abused and the sad thing is that the perpetrators of abuse look like anyone of us – often appearing to be overly kind, caring and friendly. Unfortunately we don’t talk to our children about body safety enough. Explain to them about what sorts of boundaries are appropriate in friendships with their peers, with their family and with strangers.

Depending on their age, discuss with your child why an adult might want a kiss or a hug. Let them know that you believe they have the right to say yes or no to physical contact and help them to think about ways that they can stand up for themselves.

TAKING THEM SERIOUSLY Tell your child that they will never be in trouble if they tell you a secret regarding someone touching their body in a way that they didn’t like or in a way that made them feel uncomfortable. This could be a good moment to explain to them about appropriate and inappropriate touching.

Remember that personal boundaries can work both ways and sometimes things that may seem fun to your child may be crossing their friend’s personal boundaries, for instance play fighting. If they tell you that they hate being tickled, let them know that you hear them and that you won’t do it again.

Practice setting boundaries by making a plan with your child for what to do when someone isn’t respecting their feelings.

Help them to stand up for themselves through some simple role play and practice some simple phrases to be used in certain situations such as: “Please stop,” or “I don’t like that.”

We don’t own our children’s bodies and we shouldn’t force them to ignore their feelings for the sake of being compliant, or for being considered rude or disrespectful to others.

Respect your child’s boundaries and you will not only build their self-esteem but you will be giving them the confidence to help make them less vulnerable to abuse or exploitation. It’s never too early to teach your child to respect their bodies and knowledge might just be the one thing that saves them from being a victim.

It can be difficult when granny or grandpa wants to smother their grandchildren with kisses, but avoid pushing children to be affectionate when they’re not comfortable.

Let people know that your child doesn’t want to kiss or hug them and come up with alternatives such as blowing kisses, waving, handshakes, high-fiving or fist bumps. Alternatively, tell your child to simply say ‘No thank you’

Find like-minded people by joining the Mum on the Rock Community on Facebook: @MumOnTheRockGBZ

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HEALTH & WELLBEING What about Manuka Honey? Do you know what an MGO rating is? This is simply telling you the level of methylglyoxal in honey and how strong its antibacterial properties are, but you may need help in deciding which MGO rating to go for.

cause they receive a personalised experience, so is it any wonder that the store has built up a loyal following of repeat customers who enjoy the friendly welcome from Holland & Barrett’s ‘Product Advisors’?

Leading health and wellness retailer Holland & Barrett puts customer service at the heart of their business to make sure that people who walk into their stores walk out with the right products.

If you are looking for advice that will help you to live a healthier, happier life, Holland & Barrett staff are ready for whatever question, query or lifestyle goal is put before them.

If you want to find out more about products that specialise in sports, nutrition, beauty or aromatherapy, they can help you to do that too.

Holland &Barrett in Gibraltar has a fully qualified team to advise customers about their specific needs and the products that they sell.

Their stores are not just about selling healthy supplements, foods, or any of the other many products that they sell, but it is also about matching the products to customer needs. They pride themselves not just on the physical health of their customers but also on their general well-being.

The good news is that Holland & Barrett staff would not sell an item to a customer for the sake of a sale. This means customers can be confident that they are receiving the most trusted advice when shopping in-store. It is important to remember, however, that Holland & Barrett don’t tell customers what they should buy, but their ‘qualified to advise’ associates can recommend products to customers which are the most suitable for them.

HOW OFTEN HAVE YOU WALKED INTO A HEALTH STORE LOOKING FOR ADVICE ABOUT WHICH PRODUCT TO BUY OR WONDERING WHICH SUPPLEMENT IS SUITABLE TO TAKE FOR A SPECIFIC NEED? FOR INSTANCE, IF YOU’RE LOOKING TO SUPPLEMENT YOUR DIET WITH VITAMIN D, DO YOU KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VITAMIN D2 AND D3? DO YOU REALISE THAT VITAMINS COME IN DIFFERENT FORMATS - FROM TABLETS TO LIQUID, DROPS TO SPRAY AND THAT MANY ARE SUITABLE FOR VEGANS?

Holland & Barrett like to shout out about their staff and the formal training they receive both from academic material and also via face to face training with their training managers. Holland & Barrett are leaders in this field with an extensive A Level equivalent training programme which is unparalleled in the health industry. The training is always ongoing with both existing and new products and any new health benefits that they may have. This training comes in the form of specific training/product updates to ensure it has been well understood by all before staff are able to advise customers.

Holland & Barrett staff are not labelled as traditional ‘Shop Assistants’ but they are known instead as ‘Product Advisors’ - as the role is more than just selling, and customer service is of paramount importance. They love to greet and communicate to customers that they are there for their benefit and are always available to answer any questions. People go back to retailers be-

The main difference between providing ‘good’ customer service and delivering ‘great’ customer service is that many businesses only manage to keep their customers satisfied, whilst great customer service means that customers stay loyal. People will always choose the business that gives them a great in-store experience. Holland & Barrett offer a quality range of products in a supportive and encouraging environment with excellent information and advice imparted by well-trained staff who can give alternative suggestions so that the customer leaves the store with a solution that is right for them.

The health and wellness sector is constantly changing and in a challenging retail world Holland & Barrett have worked hard to establish their business as the store of choice for customers looking for help and advice for their health and well-being, and with the support of a product range that meets their specific needs together with unrivalled customer service, there is no doubt that Holland & Barrett in Gibraltar is ‘qualified to advise’.

When speaking to Paul Victor, Operations Manager at Holland & Barrett Gibraltar, he took the opportunity to wish all their customers and their families a Merry Christmas and a very healthy 2020 from himself and the whole HB Gibraltar Team.

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HEALTH & WELLBEING

TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY, AND BLOW YOUR BUDGET ON ENJOYING THE FESTIVITIES LAVISHLY. Or is it? When a shopping spree turns into repetitive, obsessive or compensating behaviour to ‘fill the inner void’, thus impacting negatively on mood and debt, prompting guilt, depression, and anxiety, perhaps it is time counselling was considered.

Compulsive Buying Disorder (CBD), or oniomania, is described as a ‘pathological compulsion’, or the excessive and incontrollable desire for acquisition of goods or services, despite awareness of their superfluity; it is most common in women aged 30-50, and financially independent young and middle-age middle-class and upper-middle-class professionals who enjoy free time and resources to dedicate to this ‘hobby’, both on the high street or online. ‘Shopaholic’ behaviour is characterised by a rollercoaster of contrasting emotions, from anticipation to exhilaration, and finally regret, guilt and remorse.

This cycle is triggered by a variety of factors, from low self-esteem to peer pressure, poor self image or inferiority complex, social climbing aspirations, but also loss and bereavement, and sometimes boredom, as if material possessions could contribute to patch one’s ripped life tapestry, comfort sadness, or award success.

debt strikes, but the inability of breaking free from the vicious circle may worsen the occurrence of the crises.

DON’T BURN ALL THE PLASTIC!

And akin to bulimia, where self-induced and controlled vomit is regarded as relief and punishment at once, an act of cleansing and strengthening after the moment of weakness that pushed to overeating, or perhaps even its actual coronation and purpose, compulsive buyers may find temporary solace and emotional compensation in returning some or all items for refund, as soon as they ‘sober up’.

Yet, most oniomaniacs tend to keep and cherish all their purchases as tokens of their purported worth, as they get emotionally attached to the positive feelings those objects sparked in them at the time of purchase, limiting themselves to promising to be more sensible with their credit cards next time.

Oniomania: WHEN ‘RETAIL THERAPY’ NEEDS THERAPY

It is important to make distinctions between COMpulsive and IMpulsive shopping, and their respective motivations: with the latter being more of a one-off spur-of-the-moment hedonistic action in response to the external lure of displayed items, perhaps marketed as bargains, with an eye steadily kept on affordability and practicality, the former is more ‘inwardly motivated’ by the bid to relieve negative states of mind, with disregard to the inevitable forthcoming downfall, and the anamnesis of previous incidents.

Compulsive shopping releases endorphins and dopamine in the brain, and one becomes addicted to the feel-good factor. And like any other addiction, oniomania is likely to cause friction with family and seriously impact one’s life, taking not just a material toll.

Nevertheless, most affected people are financially independent, so monitoring their spending may prove challenging for a third party; furthermore, oniomania isn’t always easy to diagnose or differentiate from the responsible, and hence healthy, zest for making the best use of one’s disposable income.

Spot the early signs of oniomania in the obsession of paying frequent visits to one’s favourite stores, even when their goods aren’t on the shopping list, in the resorting to shopping ‘for kicks’, in elusive behaviour when discussing budget or shopping bags content, in the reluctant admission of feeling low prior to shopping and high during and immediately after that - and most importantly in the straining of relationships as a direct consequence of retail therapy.

When excess shopping spirals out of control and causes mood hangovers, it may become a problem that is often hard for the subjects to admit, and their immediate friends or families to spot without access to their credit card bills, which shopaholics are likely to keep hush no matter how unmanageable their financials have become.

Like other addictions, there is no cure for shopaholics, but there is a quick fix in self control and therapy, to restrain oneself and avoid temptation and relapse. This doesn’t mean that one cannot browse malls and Christmas markets, but one can implement strategies to limit expenses, like for example carrying only a limited amount of cash to these venues, leaving credit cards safely at home or capping them with the bank, like gambling addicts are advised to do.

There are a few types of shopaholics: ‘emotional’ buyers, as discussed above, ‘trophy hunters’ always in search of the must-have item, ‘big spenders’ who love to flash status-symbol items, ‘bargain hunters’ who cannot resist the sales tag, ‘co-dependent’ and ‘image’ shoppers who spend to gain social approval; ‘bulimic’ shoppers caught in the routine of buying and returning, and even self-labelled ‘collectors’ with a frenzy for mint-condition pieces.

THIS ART ICLE AIMS AT BEING IN FORMATIV ONLY, WIT H NO MED E OR DIAGN ICAL OSTIC PR ETENSES. CONSU LT YOUR GP IF YOU SUSP ECT YOU RELATIVE O ARE SUFF R A ERING FROM TH E CO BELOW DE NDITION SCRIBED

Akin to binge drinking, compulsive buying thrives on a sense of omnipotence during the session, followed by self-loathing and inadequacy when the reality of

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329c Main Street Gibraltar Tel: 200 50710 luisphoto@gibtelecom.net

PHOTOS Commercial Photographer Finest collection of old photographs on the Rock

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Aries (Mar 21 – Apr 21) If you find yourself trying to cope with just far too many things, Aries, then you must stand back and delegate. Allow others to pull their weight and you’ll have the energy to enjoy the festive season!

Taurus TAKEAWAYS

(Apr 21 – May 21)

VEHICLE REPAIRS

You may well be missing someone this month, Taurus and feeling a bit lonely. Acknowledge these feelings and then turn your attention to those close to you …. With love.

Gemini (May 22 – June 22) It’s not like you to be backward in coming forward, Gemini, so why are you not asking for that rise? You’ve worked hard and now is a good time for the recognition.

Cancer June 23 – July 22)

Take things one at a time this month, Cancer. You are brimming with great ideas so give each one space to grow and prosper. You’ll be glad you did.

Leo July 23 – Aug 23)

Fear has an unfortunate way of creeping up on us when we least expect it, Leo. And at this time of year we can feel sad as well as happy . . . so concentrate on happy and fear will simply disappear.

Virgo (Aug 24 – Sep 23)

BARS / PUBS

Widen your net this Christmas, Virgo, and do something daringly different. Meet new people and see new places …… you can do it and nobody will object!

Libra Sep 24 – Oct 23) It is important that you do not let yourself be taken for granted this month, Libra. It is that time of year when it does not do to be too willing! Say no with a smile and you’ll feel much better for it.

Scorpio Oct 24 – Nov 22)

You can’t quite make up your mind about something, Scorpio and the deadline is coming closer! So, go inside and listen to your heart …. It won’t let you down.

Sagittarius Nov 23 – Dec 21) Something has been bothering you recently, Sagittarius, and you need to get it out in the open before Xmas really gets going. Then you will be able to relax and enjoy it all.

Capricorn (Dec 22 – Jan 20)

INDUSTRIAL

Well, Capricorn, you can expect to be surrounded with love and abundance this Christmas. You would do well to get in there and enjoy every minute of it!

Aquarius Jan 21 – Feb 19) Someone close needs a loving ear this Christmas, Aquarius and no one can do that. with understanding, better than you.

You may need to coax a little but it will be worth it.

Pisces Feb 20 – Mar 20) This is a good month for you to do some appraisal, Pisces.

Take some steps regarding future security … don’t put it off any longer and then sit back and enjoy the end of the year.

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Email: katemch@gmail.com Facebook Group: Horoscopes Gibraltar

Calabacines Rellenos Stuffed Courgettes

Ingredients • 3 Medium courgettes • 40 G grated cheese. • 2 eggs • 30 G breadcrumbs. • 1 tbsp of chopped parsley • 2 garlic cloves. • Salt. • Pepper. • Plain flour

Method 1. Cut the two ends of the courgettes and boil them in a pan with some salt and boiling water until tender. Once tender remove them from the boiling water and cut the courgettes in half (lengthwise). When the courgettes are soft, scoop out the inside and place this in a sieve, pressing to remove any water.

2. Leave the skins to one side.

3. In a bowl, add the inside of the courgette and mix together with the cheese, egg, parsley, chopped garlic, salt and pepper, then add breadcrumbs until the mixture is slightly thickened.

4. Share out your stuffing mix evenly throughout the courgette skins and pass them through some plain flour, covering the whole courgette.

5. Fry in a little oil until lightly golden and place on a paper kitchen towel to remove any excess oil.

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Just Married on the Rock Sarah & Valerio married on 24th September 2019.

Photo by Radka Horvath.

Rocha & Michael married on 9th October 2019.

Photo by Radka Horvath.

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Mobile: 58897000 Email: nicholas64@gibtelecom.net

Maria & Farzan Majdani, married on 10th October 2019.

Photo by Nicky Sanchez.

Georgia & Arron McLachuan, married on 25th October 2019.

Photo by Nicky Sanchez.

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