Month: April 2017

Sunday Sevens #81 30.04.17

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Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of Sunday Sevens. My Med Steps training is going well and hopefully I’ll be ready in time for the Med Steps 5 Challenge next month…

Med Steps – twice

I managed twice round again in my Med Steps training last Sunday, it was a gorgeous sunny day for it and not too busy. If there are lots of other people around I find it quite hard to regulate my speed, I either end up going too slow so I don’t tailgate other walkers or attempt and overtake and go faster than I should and wear myself out!

On my second trip up the steps, my eyes were drawn by the colours of the sea. I am in the middle (well, start) of the latest Little Box of Crochet project and the sea & stone of reminded me so much of the yarn I’m using at the minute.

A tight squeeze 

On my trip up the Steps on Monday my legs were very tired, so I just had the one trip round. On the way back down I spotted this passenger ship being carefully parked in the dry dock. It looked a tight squeeze even for a relatively small boat. It’s not just car drivers who need to hot parking skills in Gibraltar then…

Dressmaking 

My sleeves are set in! It’s taken 2 weeks of jiggery pokery but they are in. Just got to sort the sleeve linings and the hem… hmm I wonder how long that will take??

Down in the Dell

On Wednesday I got the chance to go behind the scenes at the Alameda Gardens. I went to record the interview I used for my most recent podcast on the children’s gardening club there and their attempts to crowd fund a bio dome classroom. I was able to sit in the Dell under the Codali Bridge to record the interview – I felt very privileged to go there as it’s not open to the public.

Med Steps in watercolour


The Med Steps are on my mind a lot at the moment, this time last year I diverted my fixation into crochet and made my Med Steps wreath. This year I’m trying to paint them in my watercolour class. We’ll see how this turns out…

Rainy afternoon fun…


You can’t beat a jigsaw on a wet bank holiday afternoon… and Friday was just that. It was Worker’s Memorial Day so schools and many places of work were closed, just in time for the heavens to open. A month’s worth of rain fell in six hours apparently. 

From this…


….to this…


Crikey, it’s been so very wet. Yesterday wasn’t much better than Friday. We headed into Spain to do a spot of shopping and have lunch and the top picture was taken as we crossed the runway towards the frontier. By evening though, the clouds parted to produce this beautiful sunset.

The last day of April 2017


April began for me with fish and chips by the North Sea while on holiday visiting family and has drawn to an end with a gorgeous sunset over the Bay of Gibraltar. There’s been lots of crochet, Med Steps trips and perhaps a chocolate egg or two eaten in between too!

Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series created by Natalie from Threads & Bobbins.

Postcard from Gibraltar Podcast Episode 010 : Alameda Gardening Club with Lucy Hart

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The lush green Alameda Botanical Gardens are the green lungs of Gibraltar, lying at the heart of the community at the southern end of Main Street and below the iconic Rock Hotel. 


It’s home to plants and trees from all over the world, as well as an open air theatre, a children’s playground and a wildlife park. In recent years a scheme has been rolled out to encourage school children to get their hands dirty, many of whom don’t have access to a garden of their own. 



The Alameda Gardening Club which operates on two days a week helps children learn about the origins of the food they eat as well as forging a respect for the natural world around them.


In this podcast I met up with one of the education volunteers, Lucy Hart to find out more about the scheme they run here and heard exciting plans for the future.

Artists impression of the proposed BioDome
In a first for Gibraltar, the education team at the Alameda Gardens have launched a crowd funding project in order to build a BioDome outdoor classroom for the children of the Gardening Club.

***To hear the podcast click here!***

For more information on the crowdfunding BioDome project, please email the Alameda Gardning Club on: BioDome@gibraltargardens.gi

Alternatively search for Alameda Gardening Club on Facebook.

Painting the town red, white, blue & purple : Gibraltar Street Art

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In the last month, one of Gibraltar’s historical buildings has had a colourful makeover. The British artist Ben Eine was brought over to repaint the northern facade of the Inces Hall as part of a new Government programme of urban renewal.

The previously shabby white exterior is now painted with the words ‘THATS ENTERTAINMENT’ in vibrant colours on a purple and blue striped background. Both the choice of venue for the art work the missing apostrophe from the statement have caused much heated debate on local social media. 


Critics of the work disapproved of using a historically important building as a canvas for the art, while supporters welcomed a bright and cheerful talking point at the southern end of Main Street.

Whatever your views are on the Inces Hall painting, street art is nothing new in Gibraltar. One of the Rock’s most iconic streets is famed for it’s paint job. 


Devil’s Gap Road was painted by the local community when Gibraltarians went to the polls in 1967 to vote on remaining British. 


The 50th anniversary of the referendum result, which was overwhelmingly in favour of Gibraltar remaining British, will be celebrated this September. Among the events lined up will be a repainting of the steps. 


Not far from the red, white and blue steps, one home owner leaves no doubt as to their national pride…

At the northern edge of Upper Town, there’s plenty more street art to be found.

The residents of Moorish Castle Estate got out their paint brushes to celebrate Gibraltar National Day back in 2012:

The area is currently undergoing renovations but there’s plenty community artwork still there for all to see.

What are your thoughts on street art? 

2017 Weekly photo challenge (week 17) Nature

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I love the great outdoors. Living in such a tiny, densely populated place as Gibraltar there is a very special place which I love to escape to from time to time; the Upper Rock Nature Reserve.

It’s looking at its best up there at the moment. The bees are buzzing about the wildflowers and the butterflies are fluttering about. 

If I need peace and quiet to think things through (plus excercise – it’s quite a hike up to the top) that’s the first place I head to.

The wildflowers are gorgeous at the moment…


I’m linking with Wild Daffodil and Nana Cathy for this weekly photo challenge throughout 2017.

If you would like to see more of my posts on the Med Steps and Upper Rock Nature Reserve, and you haven’t already come across them, you can see a few of them here:

The Med Steps; a few facts and figures

Wild flowers of the Med Steps

A stroll around Gibraltar No 13: The Windsor Suspension Bridge

On a walk over Christmas, Gibraltar gave to me…

Sunday Sevens #80 23.4.17

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Hello there, this Sunday Sevens has come around quickly. I have had a quiet week in Postcard terms with no midweek posts, I figured that after four posts last week, you wouldn’t miss me too much! 

Schools started back here on Tuesday after just over a week off for Easter, so it’s been a bit more like normal again. We’ve had a vey mixed bag here weather wise with warm sunny days to begin with and gale force winds to end the week!

Bitten by the Med Steps

My Med Steps training hasn’t gone too well this week. On Monday afternoon I tried to repeat my two times round from last week, but failed. It was a gorgeous warm day and the heat of the sun was just too much. I got to the top in superquick time on the first lap but nearly wilted. A second attempt would have been silly. The views were lovely on the way down though…

Lent crochet update


So, finally on Easter Monday, I completed my Lent square Sixty Million Trebles blanket. The blanket will go to help Syrian refugees. 

Also this Lent I have managed to make a couple of baby blankets for Cherished Gowns, who support bereaved parents and I’m part way through another Sixty Million Trebles blanket too – this one is being worked corner to corner. I’m pretty pleased with what I’ve managed to make.



Naughty bunny

Hmmm, this bunny is in the dog house. Every evening we let Diamond out of his run for a bit of freedom in the lounge. Each day we move all hazards away from his level so that he can’t eat anything he shouldn’t. This week we failed…

In the corner where the phone and internet router live there’s a rats nest of wires, which although it annoys me, I hadn’t found a solution to. That was until Diamond chewed through the phone cable!!! I saw him go for it and in the time it took me to get off the sofa and walk less than a metre, the deed was done.

The wire has been replaced, and the incident was incentive enough for me to sort the wires out. Some electrical conduit, a hacksaw and drill later and the wires are rabbit proof! Diamond was none the worse for his evening snack.

Sunset


On Wednesday evening there was a lovely Saharan Dust enhanced sunset. The way the clouds were lying across the sun was lovely so I grabbed my camera with my big lens attached and realised I had a flat camera battery – grrr! This shot was taken on my phone, but isn’t a patch on how the camera would have captured the image. The battery is now charged and ready for the next snap…

Cruise ship season 


Now Easter has passed, cruise ship season is well and truly upon us. There have been several large ships in this week and the difference it makes when you are in town is quite dramatic. It’s great for Gibraltar’s economy, but it can make negotiating Main Street quite a slow affair!

Crochet reward


I was so determined throughout Lent to only crochet things for other people (gifts, Sixty Million Trebles and Cherished Gowns baby blankets) that I abstained from looking at all other things crochet. My monthly subscription from Little Box of Crochet remained unopened, as I knew I would be desperate to make a start on it straight away. 

On Tuesday I had the time to start my blue sky hug scarf from Little Box of Crochet, and on Thursday my monthly Simply Crochet magazine subscription appeared in my post box – oh how I enjoyed immersing myself in both!

Med Steps failure part II 


On Thursday morning I attempted the Med Steps again, but failed to even start them. The wind was so gusty as I climbed up to Jews Gate, where the Steps begin, I was almost blown off my feet. Perhaps not the best conditions to attempt scaling the side of the Rock of Gibraltar…

A more tame walk was undertaken instead. Just look at the wind whipping up the water out in the Bay! Apologies for the blurred focus – I didn’t realise that I’d focused onto the wall – doh (slaps forehead) another photography fail this week!

The stormy weather continued into Friday too. The Upper Rock was closed for safety due to high winds and we had literally hours of thunder rumbling from mid afternoon and into the evening. The first dramatic boom came just as I was heading out on the school run so I had to dash back in to pick up raincoats for us all. Thankfully the shower was light so we didn’t get soaked!

That’s all for this week, not the most inspiring edition of Sunday Sevens I’m afraid, let’s hope next week brings more good photo opportunities!

Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series created by Natalie from Threads & Bobbins blog. It features seven (or maybe more) photos from the past seven days.

2017 Weekly photo challenge (week 16) Arches

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Gibraltar does a good arch, so I’ve had plenty to choose from this week!

These beauties can be found on the front of the former Police Station in Irish Town. The building is currently unused, so hopefully someone will breathe new life into it soon. It’s too nice to lie empty for long.

This unassuming arch is the the entrance to the Tower of Homage, also know as Moorish Castle. 

Inside the Tower, it’s full of ancient Moorish arches.

Gibraltar’s old city walls have a fair few arches cut into them to allow for traffic.

It’s old buildings also feature many fine examples of arches…


Although some are no longer there… owing to a redevelopment called ‘The Arches’.

Sacred Heart Church boasts elegant arches on its entrance porch.

We even had brightly lit Christmas light arches last year!

I’m linking with Nana Cathy and Wild Daffodil for this weekly photo challenge throughout 2017.

Sunday Sevens #79 16.4.17

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Happy Easter Sunday to you. I hope that however you are spending it, you are having a happy time. We have enjoyed some gorgeous spring sunshine this week, although today the sun has abandoned us as things are looking rather murky and misty at the moment.

Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens…

A return to the Med Steps


Our trip back to the U.K. as well as other things have got in the way of me climbing the Med Steps of late. On Sunday I had absolutely no energy at all, I think it’s a combination of a couple of very busy weeks and hay fever kicking in (which is unusual for me), but after a very lazy morning I hauled myself up the Med Steps and felt much better for it.

I’m supposed to be doing the Med Steps 5 challenge next month and according  my training schedule (aka Mr Postcard) by last weekend I should’ve been doing twice round. I didn’t, so the jury’s out on whether I’ll be able to manage 5 times round this year…

The Steps are looking very spring-y with wildflowers blooming all over. On my walk back down the Rock, these apes were putting on a good show for the tourists near St Michael’s Cave.

Easter holiday fun


We’ve been doing a tour of Gibraltar’s parks this Easter holiday, first Commonwealth on Monday, then Europa Point on Tuesday… we went back again the next day too! I didn’t eat ice cream on every visit… I promise 😊.

Raising the roof


Mid week saw a bit on excitement on Queensway as traffic was given a front row seat to a very delicate operation. The roof of the one remaining gatehouse at the entrance to the Dockyard was lifted off so the structure could be dismantled and rebuilt on another location nearby. The contractors hearts must have been in their mouths as they watched the roof raised and swung round to another place after over 100 years in the same spot.

Lent Crochet


I made a pledge to crochet a square every day through Lent so that I could create another blanket for the Sixty Million Trebles project. The project aims to raise awareness and funds about the plight of refugees around the world through crochet. My pile of squares was getting bigger but would I succeed in completing the blanket by Easter Sunday?? I’ll have to let you know next week.

Five minutes of peace…

On Good Friday morning I found myself in town, quite early on, killing time before picking up a Little Postcard from an activity. I think it was the first time I had actually been alone (apart from the Med Steps trip) since school broke up for the Easter holidays (barring the shower and trips to the loo – although they invariable involve a knock on the door from someone). I thoroughly enjoyed my coffee with my crochet in hand watching Main Street spark into life around me.

More peace and quiet…


Later on Good Friday I got the chance to go back up the Med Steps, and this time I managed it twice round for the first time this year! I’m so pleased with myself, it’s a bit of a milestone to cross and I didn’t feel half dead at the end of it, so potentially I could have done some more had time allowed. Now I feel a lot less anxious about the Med Steps 5 Challenge which is fast approaching next month. 

This picture features a photo from each circuit of the Steps. I noticed this pretty honeysuckle was out on the road back down the Western side. It looked so pretty, sadly it had no noticeable perfume, but perhaps it comes alive in the evening.
Lunch with a view


Yesterday we enjoyed beautiful spring sunshine. We went round to Catalan Bay and met some friends for lunch. It’s at times like this that we are reminded how lucky we are to live here.

Thank you so much for stopping by, and hope that the coming week is a good one for you.

Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series created by Natalie at Threads & Bobbins blog

Postcard from Gibraltar Podcast Episode 009 : Understanding Gibraltar with Joshua Lhote 

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Gibraltar is unique in so many ways and one of the things which makes it so is its diverse community and that community’s ability to live together amicably. Here, people from many diverse faiths and backgrounds live together in tolerance and respect for one another.

A think tank, called Understanding Gibraltar, has been set up to look at why and how the different faiths and religious groups here can live side by side so well and with a view to perhaps exporting the Gibraltar model elsewhere in the world. 

In this episode of the Postcard from Gibraltar Podcast I caught up with Joshua Lhote from Understanding Gibraltar to find out all about it.

**You can hear the podcast by clicking here**

You can find out more about Understanding Gibraltar by searching for their page on Facebook.

This podcast was recorded and edited by Postcard from Gibraltar.

The theme music is Happy Me by Twisterium 

A Postcard from springtime Suffolk

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Two weeks ago, we all hopped on a plane, said goodbye to Gibraltar and headed off to England for a few days.

Our destination…. Suffolk. Southwold to be precise, but also Beccles too for the special day that was to be a Postcard family wedding. More on that later…

It’s eight months since we were last in Southwold. It’s a special place for us which we have visited many times over the years. Regular visitors to this blog may remember my posts from here last summer… A postcard from Southwold & A postcard from Southwold Pier

It was so nice to be back on the pier admiring the view into town and towards the beautifully painted beach huts.

There weren’t as many visitors in town as we’d experienced last August, but there were still some folk around doing the touristy things. Oh, and maybe eating a portion or two of fish & chips…

Southwold is such a pretty place.

There are cute little cottages around every corner.

Oh, and did I mention I have a thing about beach huts?! 

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside…

We went crazy and had a go at the two pence penny pushers in the pier amusement arcade.

We swerved the Punch & Judy show, although it did have a decent audience who persisted through the show while being blown by strong sea winds.

It may have been a bit grey at times, but that didn’t spoil our fun.

The roadside verges and people’s gardens were bursting forth with the most beautiful spring displays. Excuse me this indulgence please, I miss seeing spring flowers like this!

Oh the blossom!

And just look at this quaint architect’s office, complete with coordinating car!

I do like a colourfully painted front door…

One evening we set off across the fields behind the town and leaving the grand Victorian homes behind us, headed into the fenland towards the harbour.

Within a short walk we were by the river and tucking into a delicious pub meal. The gorse flowers glowed in the setting sunshine.


So, the reason for this jaunt to England during school termtime? We had a wedding to attend. 

Tucked away in the lush green countryside near Beccles is White Dove Barns. Surrounded by fields of crops and cattle and looking glorious was the venue for the nuptials.

The converted farm buildings were just so English and so, so picturesque.

As the registrar got everything ready for the ceremony I sneaked in to take a peak before the guests arrived.

And after the ceremony, this is the room where the reception took place.

The renovated old barn was so pretty, and the table settings, just gorgeous.

The beautiful flowers on the top table were stunning and so springlike. 

Even the wedding cake was covered in flowers. 

It was a really beautiful venue and the perfect backdrop for a very happy day.

With the happy couple successfully hitched, we had time for one more delicious breakfast at the Adnam’s brewery and another wander around Southwold before heading home.

There she is, our Rock. Thank you, Suffolk, it was lovely to see you again! Until next time…

2017 Photo challenge (Week 15) Lunch

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It’s a very tasty photo challenge this week…

Fish and chips always tastes better when you are at the seaside doesn’t it? We enjoyed one or two cheeky portions of fish and chips when we had our recent trip to Southwold. They were so nice, we may have  had to have some more again the next day! Shhh, don’t tell anyone!

Here’s a couple of Gibraltar related ‘lunch’ photos from the Postcard from Gibraltar archives…

…a couple of apes enjoying a healthy lunch provided for them in the Upper Rock Nature Reserve.

I’m linking with Nana Cathy and Wild Daffodil for this weekly photo challenge throughout 2017.