Month: May 2017

2017 Weekly photo challenge (week 19) bird

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Ornithologists actually pay to travel to Gibraltar from the UK in order to volunteer to monitor the birds here, and more specifically to record the birds which stop off in Gibraltar on their migratory path, so there are plenty of birds to be found here. Sadly, the impressive eagles, vultures and other such exciting birds do not feature in this post, as I failed to photograph them!

We do have seagulls (yellow legged gulls to be precise) in abundance though!



One day last spring, I took a walk up the Med Steps and found myself walking through a blanket of cloud and fog and emerging above it. This poor seagull had lost his lovely sea view!

It normally looks like this…

We also have our own native species of bird here in Gibraltar; the Barbary Partridge. Here’s one I spotted a couple of weeks ago.

 

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

Sunday Sevens #82 7.5.17

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Hello there, I hope you’ve had a good week. All these bank holidays of late have confused me no end, I keep losing track of what day we’re on! 

I know this is definitely Sunday, so here goes for this week’s Sunday Sevens…

Med Steps training : three times round!

We are now just six days away from the Med Steps 5 Challenge. If you listened to my latest podcast, published on Monday, you will know that I managed 3 times round on Sunday last week for the first time this year. 

I’m a bit behind on my training this year, so hopefully adrenaline will give me energy and determination to get round 5 times again next Saturday!

May Day


May Day was beautiful. We had a truly gorgeous day of sunshine, which was very welcome after two days of very heavy rain at the start of the long weekend. As we drove down towards Europa Point the view across to Morocco was so clear I had to stop and take a few pictures.

King of all he surveys 


Mr Postcard went for a midweek walk up the Rock and took this fab picture of an ape perched on the end of a cannon. You can’t blame him really it was a top vantage point. I believe it was International Macaque week or something similar this week, so here’s your topical Barbary Macaque picture!

Watercolour poppies


My current watercolour project at my watercolour class is a painting of the Med Steps. I want to include some of the beautiful spring flowers you can see in the Upper Rock so I’ve been practicing my poppies. The trial runs worked out rather better than the real thing sadly, so I’m going to have to do a bit of fixing at my next lesson.

Touch line Crochet


I’m still working on a corner to corner blanket for the Sixty Million Trebles project. It’s a great one to have in a bag when you are out and about as it’s easy to pick up and do just a bit during a quiet moment. I had a bit of time at football training for the Little Postcards this week so got a couple of rows added.

A quick escape 


I don’t normally go into Spain on a weekday but on Friday I bit the bullet and headed across the border to do a bit of shopping with Mr Postcard. We have been meaning to pop across for ages to get boring stuff for the house and we took the opportunity to go while the Little Postcards were at school. 

It felt a bit adventurous to leave the country while your kids are at school but we didn’t stray far and were back in plenty of time for school pick up! It was a bit wet by the time we were crossing the runway back into town.

Another lovely Saturday sunset


Last Saturday evening we had a lovely sunset, and last night we had another. I’ve noticed, since we moved to this west facing apartment, that we get lots of lovely sunsets in Spring and Autumn, I wonder why that is?

Also this week my crochet buddy Marisa Boselli aka Mariwish on Instagram has launched her first blog. Marisa is a crochet and music teacher, originally from Gibraltar, she now lives with her family in London. Why not pop over and check it out, if you get the chance?

What ever you get up to this week, I hope it’s a good one for you!

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

2017 Weekly photo challenge (week 18) Modern

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How about this for ‘modern’?


Yacht ‘A’ which is one of the world’s biggest and most expensive yachts was back in Gibraltar last weekend. Costing squillions of pounds to build and designed by Phillipe Starck, it reportedly has 8 floors and a helipad amongst it’s features.

The masts are taller than the tower of the Palace of Westminster which houses Big Ben. To give you an idea of scale, you see that jet of what looks like steam coming from the mast?

It was caused by a man on a harness using a jet washer to clean it! I’m not sure I could do his job, a bit high up for my liking.

Sadly, because of the boat’s position, when I photographed it, I wasn’t able to get it in full view. Here’s slightly grainy image of it when it was moored in Gibraltar earlier this year.

Modern? It certainly is, not sure it’s my cup of tea though… 

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

Postcard from Gibraltar Podcast Episode 011 : Med Steps 5 Challenge preview with Steven Belilo

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The third annual Med Steps 5 Challenge is due to take place this month. The Challenge which sees teams and individuals climb the Med Steps 5 times to raise much needed funds for the Cancer Relief Centre here in Gibraltar is a wonderful event.

Last year over £7,000 was raised from the event and every single penny went to help people undergoing treatment for cancer as well as supporting their families.

It may be hard work but I can’t think of a more beautiful place to hold a fundraising effort!

In this episode of the Postcard from Gibraltar Podcast I met Steven Belilo, who’s one of the organizers behind the event. He told me all about how you can get involved yourself – so there’s no excuse! 

**Click here to listen to the podcast**

Here’s on of the huge birds which I mentioned in the podcast being seen off by the resident seagulls:

If you want to sponsor one of the walkers taking part in this year’s Med Steps 5 Challenge, please have a look at Sandra Capano’s Just Giving Page. Sandra is a good friend of Postcard from Gibraltar who has supported my blog for a long time.

For more information on the Med Steps 5 Challenge, check out their Facebook Page or Twitter account (@MedSteps5). You can pick up entry forms for the event at Trafalgar Pharmacy or pop along to Cathedral Square on Wednesday May 3rd where you can meet the team. 

This podcast was recorded and edited by Postcard from Gibraltar. You can subscribe to the podcast feed on iTunes and PodOmatic.

Theme Music : Happy Me by Twisterium