Month: June 2019

Sunday Sevens #194 30.6.19

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Greetings from a rather warm and sunny Gibraltar. All the schoole broke up for the summer break here on Friday, so we’re now officially ‘on holiday’ (well the young people are at least!). Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens:

San Juan

It was the festival of San Juan along the Spanish coast from Gibraltar on Sunday evening last week. Mr Postcard popped over to have a walk and see some of the traditional fires which are lit on the beach. He took this photo (I was at home with the Little Postcards).

Tranquil evening light

I found myself in town at ‘golden hour’ as the sun was going down on Monday evening, it looked so tranquil looking out at the Upper Town from the multi-storey car park, and at odds with the crazy busy day I had had beforehand.

End of term at Dressmaking class

This week was the end of term for my dressmaking class, and I’m really pleased to say that I finished my top!! It’s been four years now that I’ve been attending Dorcas Hammond’s fashion academy and it’s such a highlight in my week. I shall miss it over the summertime. Here’s the finished article…

I’m watching you!

We have some rather large waspy type creatures in Gib in summertime. The Little Postcards get crazy when they arrive in our home with their long dangly legs. I haven’t been able to catch one in flight yet to take a photo. We did find one of them in their own home this week though.

One was spotted in our back patio and it headed to our bug house which is made of short lengths of bamboo in a box. I caught him watching me!

Beautiful sunny weather

We have enjoyed some beautiful sunny warm weather this week. It’s been a pleasure during calm shady moments, but rather hot and sweaty while trying to get things done. I do appreciate that our highest temperature so far has been around 30 degrees Celsius rather than the mid 40s like some of our European neighbours have experienced – that would be a whole lot hotter!

School’s out for summer!

So, here were are, mojito time – school has finished for another academic year – which is ever so slightly frightening as that means my boys are getting older. As of September I will have no children in first school and two in secondary, which is a bit mind-blowing.

Armed Forces Day

It was Armed Forces Day yesterday and that had significance for me this year as a few weeks back I made a ‘Flag of Thanks’ which will be currently being displayed in a church in Salisbury for Armed Forces Day, and which will eventually be added to other flags to make bedding for homeless veterans. (Look for #flagsofthanks on Instagram)

In Gibraltar, the Royal Gibraltar Regiment had a ceremony yesterday to mark a ceremonial changing of the Governor’s guard. It was quite a spectacle, and something for the unsuspecting tourists to enjoy.

That’s it for another week, I hope it’s a good one for you!

Sunday Sevens was first created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.

 

Sunday Sevens #192 23.6.19

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Hello there! It’s Sunday Sevens time again. Here we are on our last weekend before School breaks up for summer for 9 loooooong weeks! Not sure what state we’ll all be in by the time September comes around – I feel a another summer craft challenge coming on….

Bank holiday on the beach

It was a bank holiday here in Gibraltar on Monday in honour of the Queen’s birthday. We headed down to the beach for the first time this year, and so did everyone else by the looks of it!! I also indulged in a spot of alfresco crochet, a bit of bank holiday bobbling on the beach!

I managed a bit of bobbling on the bus home too!

Photo of the day!

This photo which I used for my #52fridayphotos photo challenge last week got noticed by an Instagram account which showcases nice photos of Gibraltar… and I won photo of the day this week! What a lovely surprise 😊.

More street art

A few weeks ago I shared a couple of photos of recent additions of street art ( a sloth & a ginger cat). This huge and rather lovely piece of art has appeared on hoardings around the old police station on Irish Town. Much better than a plain old hoarding don’t you think?!

Lunch with friends

I had a lovely afternoon with friends this week on Queensway Quay. It had been too long since our last meet up. We had a lovely chat.

Comedy in a cave.

The Mancunian comedian, Jason Manford, came to Gibraltar this week. He did four shows in St Michael’s Cave in the Upper Rock. We went along to his first show and had a really good giggle. It was fabulous, and the cave is a stunning venue for an event. The evening was rounded off with a lovely sunset as we emerged from the cave…

New old pool

Gibraltar has a new/old pool! The Nuffield Pool, which was owned by the MoD was handed back to the Gibraltar Government a couple of years ago and very sadly it was left unused. This summer it has been smartened up again and this time is open to the public – not just military personnel and their families. It opened on Friday – I’m looking forward to our first trip!

Sunset flight

Last night as we were sitting out on our balcony watching the world go by a plane took off from Gibraltar airport and flew by. What a lovely time to fly!

And there you have it, seven photos from the last seven days (who’s counting?!). Sunday Sevens was first created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.

Friday photo challenge (week 25) Summer

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Nothing says ‘summer’ more to me than alfresco crochet by the sea for my annual Summer Craft Challenge! Here are a few photos from last year when I made this crochet shawl from Little Box of Crochet which was designed by Eleonora from Coastal Crochet and was finished during our holiday in Suffolk.

I’ve already done a spot of alfresco crochet for this year….

… on Monday (which was a Bank Holiday here) – also another Coastal Crochet design; this year’s Coastal Crochet CAL.

Sunday Sevens #191 16.6.19

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Hello there! This week has been a rather busy one, the last week of full days for school children here in Gibraltar (read parents dashing around frantically to get as much done as possible) and I went home to see my Mum & Dad. Here goes this week’s Sunday Sevens – seven (or more) photos from the last seven days…

Leaving on a jet plane…

Last Sunday I caught a flight back home to Manchester to see my parents. Mum hasn’t been too well recently and was in hospital awaiting an operation the previous week. She was allowed home for 24 hours at the weekend, so I was able to have some time with her on Sunday before she headed back… it was lovely to see them both.

Birdy art work

Mum was in the Manchester Royal Infirmary, which is right next door to the Manchester Eye Hospital. My Dad took me on a detour to see these seagulls in the back of the main entrance of the Eye Hospital. There used to be a whole wall full of them but now these are the only ones left. My very talented little brother made them with a friend as a commission for the hospital. I’m glad I got to see some of them at least in situ!

Memories of last summer..

Did you see my post last year about the Bee in the City trail around Manchester? I didn’t see this Bee last year, s/he’s now living in the vestibule area of the Manchester Eye Hospital.

You had one job…

On one of our many trips back and to from hospital visiting hours, I spotted this sign on the entrance to a car wash. It really cracked me up. Not sure whether the car wash was operated by the Knights who say Ni?

Heading home

Mum had her op on Monday, I’m pleased to report it went well. She was allowed home on Tuesday. I was really grateful that I was able to be there and to spend some time with her, my Dad and brother. The staff at the MRI were wonderful and we’re so grateful for all their care and attention.

On Wednesday I flew home to Gibraltar early in the morning. As we climbed through the rain clouds above Manchester I spotted the shadow of our plane on the blanket of clouds below.

Last art lesson

I went to my last watercolour lesson this week. I’ve been going to my lessons, which I have greatly enjoyed for about 5 years now. I always finish for the summer once the children go on half days and have quite a few other things lined up for the autumn so I have decided to finish my lessons. I will still paint when I have the chance, but my formal lessons have come to an end. My slightly distracted attempt at a daisy on Thursday perhaps wasn’t a great example of 5 years of classes, but never mind!

Back in the crochet zone!

I don’t think I’ve picked up my crochet hook since the Easter school holidays. I’ve been very busy with all sorts going on and when I’ve had free time, I’ve not been in the right frame of mind to do it. Yesterday, for the first time I was in the mood, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting back into my Coastal Crochet CAL.

So that brings this week’s Sunday Sevens to a close. We’re off out for a Father’s Day meal with Mr Postcard now, and I wish all Dads out there a happy day (my own Dad included). I spoke to my Mum this morning and she’s sounding better and brighter every day. I’m sure she’ll be back to her old self very soon.

Have a lovely week!

Sunday Sevens was created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.

Friday photo challenge (week 24) Clouds

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I’m back for another Friday photo challenge after a break of a few weeks. The theme this week is ‘clouds’ and as Gibraltar is rather famous for its clouds, I had to get back on the photo challenge wagon. These two photos are of Gibraltar clouds, but from above. In the top picture it shows the famous ‘Levante’ cloud from a plane as we came in to land and below shows the view from the Med Steps one day as I climbed up through the cloud to the top of the Rock.

#52Fridayphotos is curated by Alison in Andalucia.

Sunday Sevens #190 9.2.19

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Hello there, happy Sunday! Here’s another week’s Sunday Sevens, seven (or more) photos from the last seven days…

Sunday afternoon park life

Last Sunday afternoon we found ourselves in Commonwealth Park, beautiful green oasis in the centre of a rather built up place. The Little Postcards hooked up by chance with some friends from school and ran about like mad things for an hour or so.

Flags of thanks

In last week’s Sunday Sevens you may have noticed I was doing a spot of sewing – on Monday I finished it off. It was a ‘Flag of Thanks’ which is heading to Salisbury to be displayed to raise awareness for homeless veterans. The flags will then be made into blankets for those homeless veterans.

The military in Gibraltar decided to get on board with the project but asked the wider community to get involved too. There were several workshops for people to attend and contribute to the flag collection from Gib. I wasn’t able to attend so made mine at home.

My flag was added to the collection and even got featured in a photo opportunity with the wives of the Commander of the British Forces in Gibraltar (left) Vicky Henry and of the Governor of Gibraltar (right) Lorraine Davies.

If you would like to find out more about the flags of thanks check out the Flags of Thanks website .

Another day, another park…

One of the Little Postcards had a school trip this week to the Alameda Gardens. It was a lovely spot to sit in the sunshine and wait for him to finish!

International Space Station fly-past

Its a bit of a grainy photo but that white dot is the International Space Station crossing the skies over Gibraltar on Tuesday night. I double checked flight radar and it definitely wasn’t a plane, but it was moving far too fast to be a star!! I heard earlier in the day that it would be passing over head and popped out onto the balcony on the off chance it may go past and struck lucky. It appeared between the wispy clouds.

Evening stroll

One evening I headed out with Eldest for a walk in the evening to Europa Point. As we were walking the call to prayer began at the mosque. It was beautiful hearing the melody on the breeze.

Farewell to another sub

Like last week, I have spent rather a lot of time at my laptop this week working on a project. Also like last week, I have looked up at just the right moment to see something interesting sail past. This week it was a black sailed yacht and a submarine leaving port!

50 years since the Frontier Closure

50 years ago yesterday, the border gates between Gibraltar and Spain were closed. This act by the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco cut Gibraltar off from the mainland. Families were divided and telephone lines were cut. It was a terrible time for those living on both sides of the border. This week it was remembered by both communities. There’s a fantastic exhibition on at the moment to commemorate the events of 50 years ago which include the original gates.

That’s all for Sunday Sevens this week, I hope the next seven days are good for you.

Sunday Sevens was created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.

Sunday Sevens #189 2.6.19

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Hello there and welcome to the first Sunday Sevens of June! Wowzers, June already! That came around quickly…

Here’s this week’s edition of Sunday Sevens, seven photos from the past seven days:

A morning stroll

One morning this week I found myself wandering around Upper Town. It was glorious up there, the views are amazing.

The sewing begins!

After weeks of pattern cutting, hole disguising and tweaking lining, sewing began in earnest this week at my dressmaking class. I think I’m going to like this top once it’s finished!

Walking on the runway

On Wednesday I had a meeting on the northern side of the runway and had a stroll across it in the sunshine to get there. It never ceases to amaze me that here in Gib, you can actually walk across the runway… I was stopped from crossing on the way back while we waited for a rather sleek private jet to take off before I could head home.

Empowering women

I attended a very inspiring event this week put on by Start Up Grind Gibraltar. It featured successful professional women talking about how they got to where they are and what needs to be done to help more women succeed. It was a great event, and reminded me to just go for it! (I’m not yet sure what ‘it’ is though!)

Bowling fun

On Thursday, the kids had the day off school for Ascension Day. They didn’t want to go to the beach or the park, so we went bowling instead. We will be hosting the Island Games in Gibraltar next month and as bowling is one of the sports on offer, our bowling alley has had a bit of a makeover. It got our seal of approval.

A mahoosive boat

This week I have spent rather a lot of time working at my laptop on the dining table and whilst looking for inspiration I’ve gazed out of the window and I have seen so many boats. There was a very striking yacht with black sails, another yacht which quickly wound in its sails to cope with strong winds, and then, yesterday, this huge container ship came past our window. Just check out how big it is compared to the dolphin safari boat which you can see to the right of the picture.

Sewing the Rock of Gibraltar

I spent a rather fun few hours yesterday doing a spot of sewing. I have been so busy with work stuff lately that crafty fun time has been very low on the agenda. I haven’t picked up my crochet hook in weeks – but that will change soon I hope! I had fun working on this Rock of Gibraltar for a project I’ll tell you about next week.

And that’s it from Sunday Sevens for another week. I’m afraid Postcard from Gibraltar has been rather neglected of late as I have had so much other stuff going on. I’m sure that things will get back to normal again once we head further into the summer (I hope).

Whatever you’re up to this week, I hope it’s a good one for you.

Sunday Sevens was created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.