Alameda Botanic Gardens

Sunday Sevens #188 26.5.19

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Hello there, Sunday Sevens has made it back to a Sunday! It’s been another extremely busy week at this end, with a school sports day, an inservice day, and now we’re halfway through a bank holiday weekend. I had to put an extra page in my diary this week to allow for all the things we’ve had going on! I’ll be glad when summer comes and things quieten down a little – I hope!

Med Steps 5 weekend

Last weekend was Med Steps 5 weekend. In previous years the fundraising event ran just on the Saturday. This year though, there was a family event on the Sunday. Children were given a Med Steps passport to complete along the route and were awarded medals at the end.bThis brilliant event, as always, raised funds for the wonderful Cancer Relief Centre in Gibraltar.

One very big boat

Do you remember that in last week’s Sunday Sevens I told you about this big boat? Well this week it even had a helicopter on the top! And I hear it belongs to Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook fame.

Last rays of sunshine

I happened to step out onto the balcony just at the right time to spot the sun about to dip down behind the hills across the Bay from our house one evening. It’s at times like this that I’m so grateful for where we live.

Street art

This little chap has been all over social media in Gibraltar lately. The sloth has been painted onto some hoardings around building work and I happened to walk past him mid week for the first time. Moments later I spotted this lovely cat too just a bit further on!

Jacaranda galore

This year I’ve noticed just how many Jacaranda trees there are in Gibraltar. I have been trying to photograph one with it’s gorgeous blue/violet blossom for the past couple of weeks but normally the background has been blue sky which didn’t display the colour of the blossom well. I spotted this one on Main Street and the building behind it showed it off to great effect.

Polling Day

I’m sitting here in front of the TV this evening watching BBC coverage of the European elections whilst simultaneously watching the local coverage from the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation on my tablet. We, in Gibraltar went to the polls like the rest of the UK on Thursday. Gibraltar is eligible to vote as part of the South West region of Great Britain. Gibraltar voted overwhelmingly (76% of the Vote) for the Liberal Democrats – the party leader, Sir Vince Cable was in Gibraltar to campaign just a week or so ago on a pro-Remain ticket, there was even a Gibraltarian candidate standing as a Lib Dem MEP.

Beautiful botanical gardens!

We took a walk through the beautiful botanical gardens yesterday. No matter what the weather or the time of year, it’s always special here!

That’s all for Sunday Sevens for this week, thanks very much for stopping by.

Sunday Sevens was created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.

Sunday Sevens #181 31.3.19

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Hello there! It’s Mothering Sunday here today, I hope it’s been a good day for you. Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens.

Sunday wander

Last Sunday we took a wander into the Alameda Gardens. It was such a grey day, but the gardens still looked beautiful. A true oasis which we are so fortunate to have on our doorstep.

Au revoir

On Monday morning I waved goodbye to one of the Little Postcards, who was off on a residential school trip. It was his first time away from home, and I have to admit to having a bit of a wobble, I really missed him. (He had a good time and made it home in one piece I’m pleased to report).

Housebound crochet

I was housebound for a couple of days this week as a nasty bug struck the household. Thankfully just two succumbed, a Little Postcard and me… while I was looking after him, I got my hook out and did a spot of granny square making, so every cloud and all that!

Finished!

It’s been an awfully long time in the making, but this week, amazingly, I finished my jacket at Dressmaking class. It’s been worn already!

Floral bathroom

We’ve been suffering a few gale force gusts this week, so we had to bring some of our balcony pots and boxes in to stop them being blown to bits. We ran out of spaces to put them, so these ended up in the bathroom. Eldest said it looked like a posh public loo!

Stormy seas

The aftermath of the storms was evident in Camp Bay afterwards. Mr Postcard took these photos while out on a walk on Thursday. The waves must have had some force to throw those rocks so far! I’m glad we brought the plants in!!

Grey skies again

The grey skies which have been a feature for a lot of the week were with us again yesterday- and we had that lovely drizzly rain too. Delightful!

Here’s to a brighter, less windy and germ-free week next week. Fingers crossed!

As always I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

Sunday Sevens #174 10.2.19

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Hello there, I hope you’ve had a good week! Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens…

Another sunny Sunday stroll

Last Sunday we took a wander through the Alameda Gardens and Eldest realised it was the fourth consecutive Sunday that he’d done this… we’re nothing if not predictable!

Monday at the dentist

I’m not a huge fan of the dentist – well I’ve nothing against him personally – but being prodded, poked and scraped first thing on a Monday morning isn’t my favorite start to the week. On the plus side I do go a dentist in a marina so I get to see this lovely view when I step out of the front door – so it’s not all bad! 😉

Chinese New Year

Gibraltar had its lanterns out this week in honour of the Chinese New Year. There was a proper celebration with a Chinese dragon dance in town on the big day.

Dressmaking class

I tried and kind of failed to set my sleeves into my jacket this week. They were a bit wonky – so they came back off again…

Bees in the sunshine

On Tuesday evening a nasty bug struck Littlest Postcard. The rest of the week, I was pretty much housebound. We have had some lovely sunny days, so one afternoon I snuck out onto the balcony for a cup of tea in the sun and found myself mesmerized by the bees buzzing around our money tree.

Is that a tortoise I see?

On walking past the register office garden in town yesterday, I spied something on the grass… a tortoise! What a lovely spot for him/her to wander at will!

Seagulls attack!

I got the fright of my life yesterday while out for a walk. I heard some seagulls overhead making a right racket above me. Then suddenly I heard a plop on the road in front of me. It was a outside round of a loaf of bread – dropped from a great height!!! It gave me the fright of my life… imagine getting hit on the head by that!!

And on that wholemeal note, I shall end Sunday Sevens. I’m pleased to say Littlest is fully recovered from his illness, and so far (touch wood) the rest of us have managed to dodge it.

I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

Sunday Sevens #172 20.1.19

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Sunday evening again… another week flown by. I can’t believe how fast the days are going at the moment, we’ve had another busy week, but then I seem to always be saying that!! Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens:

Sunlit walk home

Last Sunday afternoon we had a walk to the Alameda Botanical Gardens. The Little Postcards whizzed down the hills on their scooters – I had my heart in my mouth! After a lovely time playing in the park, we made our way home just as the sun was setting. It was lovely to see the place lit up with gorgeous golden sunlight.

Monday Med Steps

I started the week with a lovely trip up the Med Steps. It was a stunning morning. I even took a detour once I’d reached the top and walked up to O’Hara’s Battery for the first time (Gibraltar’s highest point). It was a lovely morning.

O’Hara’s Battery

A birthday walk

On Wednesday, it was the birthday of a good friend of mine. Along with three other friends, we took a drive across the border into Spain and went for a walk from Alcaidesa towards Gibraltar and back along the beach. It was such a lovely walk (if a little hard going on the legs in the sand). We had a very excited chocolate Labrador for company too.

We had such a lovely time we pledged to do it again on a regular basis.

Back to watercolour class

There hasn’t been much in the way of arts and crafts going on lately, what with the break for Christmas and general chaos since. This week, I made it back to my watercolour class and had a very enjoyable time adding some colours to my painting of the ceiling at Sacred Heart Church.

A close call

Mid week I got a rather nasty fright. I’d plugged the dishwasher in to do a load of dishes, left to bring the washing in and returned about 5 minutes later to see sparks and smoke coming from the plug. It was a bit of a wake-up call. I’m so glad I spotted it and was able to turn off the power when I did.

Crochet again!

So, as with all of my ambitious projects, when I started this jumper, I was very gung-ho and was confident it would be finished in time for me to wear it at Christmas. Well I finished the back of it by Christmas…. I made a bit of progress on the front this week!

Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series featuring seven photos from the last seven days & I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.

I hope you have a good week!

Sunday Sevens #141 17.6.18

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Hello there and happy Father’s Day to any Dads out there who might read this. Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens 🙂

International Yarnbombing Day preparations

This time last week I was installing my yarn bomb in the Alameda Gardens close to the fundraising sponsors plaques for the BioDome outdoor classroom. It was fun to do, and less pressure than the last time I did it (which was without permission). I had some lovely comments, which was fab to hear.

A pair of cuties

On Monday we had another bank holiday here in Gibraltar. My parents were over visiting so we did the touristy thing and caught the cable car to the top of the Rock. Up there, we encountered this pair of cuties. I posted the photo on social media asking for possible captions… the hands down winner has to be Sandra from Wild Daffodil with the comment “So, yarnbombing – what’s that about?” Very appropriate seeing as it was actually International Yarnbombing Day 🙂

Evening out

I enjoyed a lovely evening out on Wednesday with my book club ladies. There was a lot of chat, a bit of wine and good food and it was such fun.

Nasturtiums

I think I have finished this paining of wild nasturtiums now. I’ve been working on it for weeks at my watercolour class and I think I should probably stop now before I make a mess of it!

Passion Flower

Talking of flowers, I spotted this beautiful passion flower on a walk around town this week. It looks so exotic and interesting.

A day of sea mist

In late spring/early summer it’s quite common for us to experience fog and sea mists. The mist arrived on Friday and was ever changing throughout the day. It was fun to watch it change direction, thickness and shape. I also love listening to the ships singing to each other as they blast their fog horns!

Tiny coffee

Yesterday morning we had an early drive to Malaga airport to take my parents for their flight home. We decided to take a trip to IKEA while we were in that neck of the woods. We were there so early, Ikea hadn’t yet opened, so popped into McDonald’s next door for a small coffee. When I asked for a small cappuccino, I hadn’t bargained on it being a ‘tiny’ one! It came a day too late for my Friday photo challenge for this week.

I hadn’t been to Ikea for about 5 years. I had a wonderful time and bought so many things I hadn’t realised I needed in my life, like lampshades and picture frames!!! 😉

Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you have a great week! I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

International Yarnbombing Day 2018

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Those of you who have been following my blog for a while may remember that 2 years ago, I undertook some guerrilla crochet and yarnbombed the Alameda Gardens for it’s 200th anniversary. You can read all about in this post from International Yarnbombing Day 2016.

Alameda Botanical Gardens Yarnbombs June 2016

Well it turns out, today is International Yarnbombing Day 2018 and I fancied getting my yarnbombs out of storage to see the light of day again. This time though, it was a bit less guerrilla (I actually had permission this time – must be getting old and more responsible!).

I dusted off my original yarnbombs and added a few new ones including this handful of butterflies…

Want to see them in situ? Here goes…

Molly Bloom’s got her necklace back on…

Giuseppe Codali’s got his scarf back on too…

He’s looking rather dapper as he stands guard overlooking his bridge:

My mini blanket is now hanging up alongside the fundraising plaques for the Alameda BioDome.

This time it has some little crocheted butterflies holding it in place.

More of those little butterflies are fluttering about nearby…

And last of all, vines of little crocheted flowers have wound themselves around the railings too.

If you would like to go and see them for yourself, they should hopefully be there until Wednesday.

Happy International Yarnbombing Day!

For more information about the Alameda BioDome Project, why not check out their blog?

Sunday Sevens #140 10.6.18

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Hello there! We are in the middle of yet another lovely bank holiday weekend here in Gibraltar, this time it’s to commemorate the Queen’s birthday. Here’s this week’s edition of Sunday Sevens:

Birthday cake and sewing

It was my friend’s birthday this week and it coincided with our sewing class. I wasn’t expecting a generous slice of this gorgeous plate of chocolatey heaven when I turned up! As you can probably tell from the photo, it was divine. I was very careful not to drop any crumb on my dress I’m sewing!!

World Environment Day

World Environment Day was celebrated in Gibraltar on Tuesday in Commonwealth Park. Local school choirs performed on the bandstand and organisations and companies with an interest in the environment like the Alameda Wildlife & Conservation Park and the Nautilus Project had stalls to raise awareness about environmental concerns. It was a lovely afternoon in a beautiful setting.

Alameda Gardens

We are in the midst of a bit of home improvement Chez Postcard at present. The place is in utter chaos with stuff moved from it’s normal locations, floor tiles lifted, power tool noise and lots and lots of dust. I ran away one morning to escape the noise and mess and sat for half an hour in the tranquility of the Alameda Gardens. While I was there, these beautiful day lillies caught my eye. Aren’t they beautiful with their deep purple edges?

Sunny Catalan Bay

In another bid to escape the work at home I took a walk through Catalan Bay one lunchtime. It was beautifully sunny and quiet! It won’t be long before this place is full of deck chairs and sun umbrellas cheek by jowl on the beach. Until then, it’s such a peaceful place to be!

Cock a doodle doo to you too!

You can often hear cockerels crowing in the South District of Gibraltar, but until recently, I had never actually seen who was making all the noise! A couple of months ago on an early morning walk I came face to face with a rather impressive black cockerel, but he ran away too fast for me to catch him on camera. This week though, as I walked along Europa Road, I not only heard, but saw two cockerels crowing. They were oblivious to the traffic whizzing by them just a metre or so below them.

Sunny walk on the costa

Yesterday we took a drive along the coast to Puerto Banus near Marbella. It’s a rather swanky place full of designer shops, very (and I mean very) posh cars and mahooosive yatchs in the marina. I quite like going there to people watch and to see how the other half lives. Away from the razzmatazz there’s a lovely promenade where you can walk all the way to Marbella. We had a very pleasant walk there yesterday (not as far as Marbs though) the Little Postcards enjoyed jumping from rock to rock along the wall at the side of the path.

International Yarnbombing Day preparations

Did you know it’s International Yarnbombing Day tomorrow? Well it is, and I may be working on a little yarnbomb of my own… watch this space!

I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

Sunday Sevens #138 27.5.18

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Crumbs, is it just me, or is this year flying by? I can’t believe we are at the end of May bank holiday weekend already! Slow down please!!! I hope this Sunday Sevens finds you well and that you are enjoying your long weekend (if you are in a part of the world which has one). Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens…

First barbecue of the year

And relax… feeling a little achey after the Med Steps 5 Challenge last Saturday, our first barbecue of the year, my new book and a cold beer were just what the Dr ordered!

Down by the sea

Two Little Postcards had an in service day on Monday. We headed down to Camp Bay for a bit of a kick around and ice cream. What with bank holidays and extra days off school at the moment, there doesn’t seem to be a ‘normal’ week at the moment – perhaps that’s why it feels like time is whizzing by!

Bird’s eye view

I had a trip up to the Great Siege Tunnels this week as a parent helper on a school trip. We got a bird’s eye view of the tunnel being built at the end of the runway, can you see it? There are two tunnels with what looks like a spine and ribs over the top. It was the first time I’d been to the Siege Tunnels with a guide (well a teacher who knew all about it) and I learned quite a few new things. Which reminds me, I went there with the Little Postcards a few months ago during a school holiday and I was meaning to write a post all about it…. one day!

Beautiful blossoms

I love the colour of Jacaranda blossom. This tree sits on Main Street and you could easily miss it as you go about your business. Sometimes it’s a good idea to look up!

Sandy Bay blanket

My seaside stash busting blanket now has a name; the Sandy Bay blanket. I wanted it to have a Gibraltar theme so reflected colours I see about the place. The white and yellow section was inspired by the Both Worlds housing development which sits above Sandy Bay and the green and magenta by the succulents growing above on the old water catchment slopes. Here’s the whole thing so far:

A green future for Gibraltar’s School children

On Thursday I was invited to a special reception in the Alameda Botanical Gardens. A community group I used to be involved with has sponsored a plaque to raise funds for a bio dome and learning facility for school children. It’s a very exciting project and has already garnered a lot of support, but there is still a way to go to raise all the cash needed to build it. For more information about the Alameda BioDome, you can read about it here.

A breezy trip to the beach

My Sandy Bay blanket made it to Sandy Bay on Friday morning. It was gloriously sunny between the wispy clouds skudding across the sky but the breeze was rather brisk. I had to kneel on my blanket to take the photo to prevent it blowing into the sea! Thank goodness I went while the Little Postcards were at school – they would have well and truly disowned me as I clambered over the rocks to try and get a decent photo!!

That’s all from Sunday Sevens for this week, I hope you have had a great weekend. I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

Sunday Sevens #134 29.4.18

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Hello and welcome to this Bank Holiday edition of Sunday Sevens. We are enjoying a 4-day weekend here in Gibraltar with Workers Memorial Day tomorrow and May Day on Tuesday. Fortunately, we enjoyed some rather nice sunshine yesterday, although we have had heavy rain and thunder storms overnight, so it’s turning out to be your usual British bank holiday! However you are spending this weekend, I hope you’re having a good time 🙂

Heavy seas

Last Sunday I took a walk around the eastern side of the Rock and was mesmerized by the waves. They were crashing on the rocks below like billy-o and were quite hypnotic to watch.

Poppies & partridges

Poppies and Barbary partridges were the order of the day for my Monday trip up the Med Steps. These were the first poppies of spring this year and are always such a treat to see.

Just killing time with a crochet rainbow

One afternoon I found myself with some time to kill in the car while waiting to pick up Little Postcards. Fortunately, I came prepared with my crochet. A lovely way to while away a few moments.

Another painting finished…

At my art class this week, I finished off my freesia painting. That’s four now that I have done in this style and I’ve really enjoyed painting & drawing them (all four are below). The first one (the purple iris) was a copy of a greetings card, which my watercolour teacher had by an artist called Judy Ball. The original was a lino print rather than a ink and watercolour picture.

I then copied that style to do my own compositions of daffodils, tulips and freesias.

Gib Rocks

The Postcard from Gibraltar ‘Gib Rock’ has been set free in the beautiful Alameda Botanical Gardens. It was left in a particularly tranquil spot, one that’s special to me, because it reminds me of my lovely Gran. She sat in this area for a while on her only trip out to Gibraltar to visit us. If you should happen to see my rock, I’d love to hear from you 😊.

Out of my window

I love that whenever I look out of my window here, my view is always changing. I glanced up while on the phone one lunchtime this week and spied this old fashioned ship picking it’s way amongst the bunkering tankers and cargo ships. I have a great app on my iPad called Marine Traffic (a bit geeky I know) which lets you see the name, country of origin and destination of many of the ships out in the Bay. Sadly, I was too busy to take the time to find out about this one. It does look rather magestic don’t you think?

And finally, time for something different…

I spotted this little chap in the middle of the lawn behind the Gibraltar Register Office this week. I hadn’t walked that way for quite some time and had never seen him before. I think he’s rather sweet, and I think Gibraltar needs more garden gnomes!

I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

Sunday Sevens #125 4.3.18

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While the UK has been in the grips of the snow and ice brought by the ‘Beast from the East’, down here in Gibraltar, we’ve had a bit of a battering from Storm Emma too. We knew it was coming, but we got a heck of a pounding from the winds, rain and hail storms.

Where ever you are I hope you made it through the last seven days warm and dry! Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens:

Last rays of sunshine

We were well warned that there was bad weather on the way so as the sun was shining on Sunday afternoon I felt compelled to take the Little Postcards out on their scooters to the park while we still could. Initially they were reluctant to leave their digital devices but they had a great time and were very pleased that they’d made the effort. We haven’t visited the Alameda Botanical Gardens for a while, so it was lovely to go back there and admire the architectural plants (and tear down the sloping paths at high speed!!).

First trip up the Rock in ages

On Monday, the terrible weather we had been warned about hadn’t yet arrived so I took the opportunity to climb up to the top of the Rock for the first time in a month. I had a nasty dose of bronchitis in February and it knocked me out of action for a bit, I’m now a lot better although have been left with very sore ribs from coughing.

Anyway, I wasn’t brave enough to attempt the Med Steps in case I felt a bit funny, I thought it safer to attempt the roads instead – you can climb to the same height but it’s more gradual and there’s a better chance of seeing other people. I made it up to the top and was rather pleased with myself. Once the bad weather clears I think I’ll be ready to attempt the Steps next time.

I went for a bit of a wander while I was up there and went along Douglas Path (a newly refurbished part of the Upper Rock) for the first time. You can see the pictures here.

Oh, and I spotted some processionary caterpillars on the way back down. They may look furry and cute, but they are best avoided – they fire off the hairs on their backs which are loaded with nasty toxins.

Dressmaking

Enough of the toile already, let’s get cracking with the real thing!! I’ve reached the nerve wracking part of my dress construction at dressmaking class – actually cutting it out. If I make a mess of this, it could be disastrous! No going back now!

Rainbows

Grey skies don’t bother me when I have a crochet rainbow to work on!! I’m really enjoying the bright colours on this project. Just the antidote for the bad weather.

Wild weather

The flags were barely still hanging onto their poles at Parsons Lodge on Thursday morning. It was a bit wild. Between getting up at 7 and leaving the house around 8:30, we had thunder and lightning, hailstones, gales, drizzle and calm. It was a lovely trip to School though (I drove for a change and the roads were empty) as many people must have decided to keep their children at home and out of the storm. It was very eerie. Needless to say I was brought up up north and my children weren’t going to miss school for a bit of rain, hail and gale force winds 🙈.

The bad weather continued into the weekend. World Book Day was postponed over here until next week so costumes weren’t ruined by the rain and wind and outdoor activities could still go ahead. We had bits blowing off buildings and even a large rock fall from the north face of the Rock on Friday which closed a road and made an awful mess of some parked cars.

Watercolour class

I did a little poll on Instagram for what flower to paint next after my irises and daffs, and tulips won! We’ll see how this one progresses when I start painting it next week at my watercolour lesson.

That’s all for this week, let’s hope this bad weather soon comes to an end! Here’s a few pictures from last month – that blue sky looks lovely after this last week!

I’m linking with Natalie from Threads & Bobbins for this weekly blog series.