beach life

Farewell old friend….

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The Rock of Gibraltar painted my me at one of my watercolour lessons

Way back in the summer of 2015, I set off on a blogging adventure. Inspired by the likes of Lucy at Attic24 and several other craft bloggers, I decided that I would have a go at sharing a few snap shots of my life on the Rock. At the time, I had a the unique selling point that I was based in Gibraltar, and at that time, there were no other craft bloggers active on the Rock. I thought that even if no one was interested in what I was making, at least I could share beautiful photos of my sunny surroundings way down in the south of Europe.

The Upper Rock Nature Reserve

I felt compelled to share some of the quirks and beauty of where I was living at the time – a much misunderstood place from the outside. There is so much more to Gibraltar than the day trips from cruise ships and bus tours from along the Costa would have you believe. There’s much more than red phone boxes and fish & chips, British bobbies and Marks and Spencer in the sun. It’s home to a diverse group of people with origins from far and wide, the fortunate byproduct of it’s geographical location at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsular and just a short distance across the Strait of Gibraltar from Morocco and the African continent beyond.

The Europa Point lighthouse with the Strait of Gibraltar beyond

Soon I began sharing a series of blog posts called ‘A stroll around Gibraltar’ as I took my camera and later my phone along on walks around the narrow streets and back alleys of Upper Town and into the Nature Reserve of the Upper Rock – in fact my post about the ‘facts and figures of the Med Steps’ remains my most read post to date. I posted more than 200 Sunday Sevens posts and hosted a Friday Photo Challenge on Instagram one year as well.

The view northwards from part way up the Med Steps

I also used Postcard from Gibraltar to share what I was making, from the dressmaking and watercolour classes which I was able to attend once all three Little Postcards (my three sons) were old enough to all go to school, as well as a number of community crochet projects I joined in with from Yarndale worldwide appeals for crocheted bunting and mandalas to Eleonora from Coastal Crochet‘s Seaside Stashbusting blanket and Changing Tides blanket crochet-alongs.

My Seaside Stashbusting blanket inspired by Sandy Bay in Gibraltar

As our family went on trips around the place I would blog about our travels in my ‘A Postcard from…’ posts which included Rome, The Algarve, Carcassonne, and skiing in the Dolomites, as well as UK destinations like Manchester, Cheshire, and Suffolk.

A few photos from one of our holidays in Suffolk as I worked on an Eleonora Tully design from Little Box of Crochet for that year’s Summer Craft Challenge

Postcard from Gibraltar also opened doors for me and I began writing for an online parenting magazine in Gibraltar which now no longer exists sadly, I also got articles published in print for the Calentita! Gibraltarian food festival magazine. In short, Postcard from Gibraltar gave me the confidence to venture back out of my domestic set-up after many years being a stay-at-home Mum.

My Attic24 cosy stripe blanket at Europa Point

In 2020, along with everything else which was happening in the world, close to home for us, change was afoot. We found ourselves moving back to the UK after 11 very happy years in Gibraltar. It was a big adjustment, which wasn’t made any easier by the pandemic, but we survived! At the time, I wondered whether I should continue with Postcard from Gibraltar as it would no longer be ‘from Gibraltar’. I had begun my new podcast project ‘Making Stitches Podcast’ by then, and whilst it brought me very welcome creative distraction – especially during lockdown, I felt I would miss Postcard too much if I just finished it, so I kept it going in a slightly less regular, less sunny and blue skies kind of a way!

I may be in the north of England now but we do still get occasional blue skies!
(Photo taken at Dunham Massey this week)

More than 2 years on from our move though, I think the time is right to say goodbye to Postcard from Gibraltar. I won’t be saying goodbye to it completely though. This blog and all of the previous posts will still be available to read and if you should search for Postcard from Gibraltar online, it will still lead you here. Postcard from Gibraltar is evolving, just as I have, and from now on, will be known as Making Stitches.

It felt right to adapt what I’m already doing to compliment what I have been working on with Making Stitches Podcast. In the last two years, that has gone from strength to strength and is now in it’s 6th Series with more than 50 episodes featuring interviews with creative people from many different disciplines including crochet and knitting (including my old friend Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet), dressmaking, embroidery, textile art, weaving, yarn dying and more. In addition to this, I have made a foray into crochet design myself with the launch of my amigurumi crochet patterns. My life has changed quite a bit from what I was doing back in Gibraltar and it’s time this blog caught up with me.

Looking south towards the Rock – photo taken on Alcaidesa beach

I will still post my monthly Postcards (because I would miss writing them too much) although I can’t guarantee I’ll be any more prompt with posting them (!) and I’m pretty sure I will have another go at a Summer Craft Challenge again next year, so in a way nothing has changed, just the name.

View of Gibraltar from La Linea

Thank you to everyone who has read my posts, liked them or commented through the years and a special thank you to those of you who have become friends through this medium too. Your support, although virtual, has been very much appreciated over the years and it’s that which has kept me going. Who knows what lies ahead?

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Lindsay x

Sunday Postcard #006 6.9.20

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Wow, what a week it has been for us. It’s been super busy but not much in the way of photos. But here goes with this week’s Sunday postcard…

Bank holiday trip to the seaside

Crosby beach

In case you missed my post on Tuesday (A postcard from Another Place, Crosby), we went to the seaside on Monday. Just under and hour’s drive for our new home in Manchester is Crosby on the Lancashire coast (close to Liverpool). It’s stunning – and we had lovely weather too!

Queue the whirlwind of chaos

Moody night sky in the early hours of Tuesday morning

So, since Monday it’s been rather hectic round here. We have completed on the sale of our home in Gibraltar, Eldest began his new sixth form, there was a school appeal hearing and two offers of school places for the other two Little Postcards. All super fabulous news after a summer of uncertainty and waiting for news.

Cue the frantic mad panic of uniform buying in a matter of hours rather than the usual weeks/months. All the main uniform suppliers (ie department stores) looked like a plague of locusts had come through and cleared the shelves and racks of uniform in the size & colour required and the specialist uniform shops were buckling under the strain of last minute purchases and COVID restrictions.

I did get more than one pitying/smug look and comment from shop assistants reminding me that had I not left it to the last minute, I would have stood a better chance of getting what I wanted….. Thank goodness for the kindness of friends and school for lending and gifting us pieces of uniform to get us through until our own supplies arrive!

Batman’s pal

In a rare moment of calm, I took a chair out to the garden and had a few moments to myself (I haven’t been in the mood or had the time to pick up a crochet hook this week) and this little chap hopped out from beneath a conifer to say hello. It was so tame and came very close before turning round and hopping away again. Such a treat!

A special delivery

This week the postman brought this rather special book to Postcard Towers. It’s written by the lovely Nancy (@avocadofairy on Instagram) and illustrated by her daughter Freya.

Nancy is currently undergoing treatment for a brain tumour and during lockdown, isolation and chemo decided to put pen to paper and write this very special book. All the proceeds from the sale are going to the Brain Tumour Charity. Do pop over to Nancy’s Instagram feed if you are interested in getting your hands on a copy – it’s delightful. 🍄

And that, I’m afraid is all I have to offer this week … it’s been quite a week. Tomorrow, for the first time in six months all three Little Postcards will be in school… what will I do with myself?!

Until next time, thanks for stopping by. I hope you have had a good week yourself.

Lindsay x

Sunday Postcard #004 23.8.20

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Hello there! My word it’s been a busy week this week as you will see. I hope it’s been a good one for you. Here’s this week’s Sunday Postcard…

Stormy skies

Last Sunday we headed out to our local field to play frisbee. It seemed like a great idea at the time – we had a brief frisbee session the day before and the Little Postcards loved it – so we headed back for a longer session on Sunday. It was fun, I’ll give you that, but blimey I didn’t half ache afterwards!! My neck, shoulders, arms, back legs…. I’m showing my age!

Rainy day

After a bright Monday morning, the afternoon was a rather damp affair in our part of the world. Despite that, I thought the rain drops on this spiders web looked rather pretty.

Leaving on a jet plane

Eldest and I had an early start on Wednesday morning…. we were Gibraltar bound for the small matter of picking up GCSE results.

And there she is…

A seat with a view

A postcard from Gibraltar

It had to be done… we left the two youngest Little Postcards behind under the care of grandparents, so we simply had to send a postcard back home on Wednesday when we arrived. I’m amazed to be able to tell you that it arrived in Manchester on Saturday just 4 days later!

Sunrise on results day

We were up early on Thursday so we could collect Eldest’s GCSE results (the reason for our visit). As we were staying on the East side of the Rock this time we were able to witness sunrise over the Mediterranean Sea. It was a lovely moment as we anticipated what might be coming that day.

I’m thrilled to be able to tell you the results were as sunny as the skies above us. I have been having a proud Mum moment ever since.

Friends reunited

Friday evening meant meeting up with some old friends who I only said goodbye to last month! It was great to see them, tell them all our news and hear theirs.

Making waves on the beach

Our trip back to Gibraltar hasn’t exactly been a holiday, there have been things which needed to be sorted following our move back to the UK. A few admin jobs which had slipped through the net before we left and such like. Yesterday though, in the afternoon, I found myself alone and my to-do list was complete so I took my crochet hook, yarn & deckchair down to the beach at Sandy Bay.

I had a few blissful hours crocheting, watching the world go by and also had a solo dip in the sea. I can’t remember if I have ever been to the beach alone before. I normally always have young people with me. I can highly recommend it! It may only have been a few hours but it felt like a holiday after months of planning, packing, unpacking and everything else that moving countries with a family entails. I feel very lucky to have had this time away.

And that brings this week’s postcard to an end. We are now back in Manchester after a very long day of travel – more on that next week!

Have a great week, and thanks for stopping by.

Lindsay x

Sunday Sevens #229 5.7.20

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Alas, it’s been our final full week living here in Gibraltar. A week of goodbyes, packing boxes and parcel tape. Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens:

Beach day

Believe it or not, this summer we hadn’t been to the beach as a family until last Saturday. I’ve just been so busy packing boxes and dealing with admin that I couldn’t justify a day off. It was worth the wait though! Just what was needed.

Packing

I had been holding off packing my Pandemonium blanket and small bag of yarn until the last minute convinced I’d have the time to crochet in the evening. I was wrong…. I’ve been sitting down at about 11:15pm each night too exhausted to crochet for well over a week.

I gave up and packed my blanket as a consequence. I’m not sure what the removal men will think when they see the name on this box!

Back to the beach

You wait months for a trip to the beach and two beach days come along at once! We went back to the beach on Monday. It was great, and one Little Box of Crochet dodged the packing boxes for now!!

A chilly treat

Ever since Hotel Chocolat started selling ice cream in Gibraltar, I have promised Eldest that I would get him one. This week, that finally happened. It was lovely, but I managed to give myself brain freeze as I ate it too quickly!!

Bright summer days

It was so colourful at the southern end of Main Street when I popped into town to have a farewell coffee with a friend – I couldn’t resist taking a few photos.

Another goodbye…

I had a wonderful evening on Thursday after a day of admin (mainly to do with schools for the Little Postcards). It was my last book club meeting ‘in person’ for a while.

Book Club was started a few years ago by a friend who had been a member of a group in the UK (who I know sometimes reads this blog – thank you Jackie!) It’s been wonderful, a really lovely group of friends and given me enough impetus to get me reading properly again. Having studied a very literature heavy degree at university, I kind of fell out of love with reading as it became a chore.

My book club ladies helped me rekindle my romance with a good book from true crime to historic fantasy. I will miss my book club nights, but have been told I still have to read the books each time and take part remotely!!

Our last meal together was utterly scrumptious- fish & chips!

Nocturnal wanderings

I love the walk home from book club too – it’s so nice to walk the quiet streets of Gibraltar after dark. The views out to sea are equally stunning at night! And how about this for an intricate window?

Another sunset

Forgive me, but it has to be done. There won’t be views & sunsets like this where we are going. However I will be replacing the view with beautiful green trees which lose their leaves in autumn, instead of a balcony there will be a garden with grass and I’ll have close family & life-long friends close by so I think that’s a pretty decent trade, don’t you?

Ahoy there!

It was a humid, grey morning yesterday when Eldest exclaimed – “What’s that?!” What a peculiar looking cruise ship. I’m told it’s a Virgin cruise ship which is normally based on the opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean. It did look a bit unusual as it passed by our windows!

And that brings this week’s Sunday Sevens to a close. I’m not sure what state either Sunday Sevens or I will be in this time next week. One thing I can be sure of is it’ll be a few degrees cooler and far easier to unpack than it was to pack!! I’m off now to throw some more things into boxes … wish me luck!

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

Sunday Sevens #200 11.8.19

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Did you catch the title of this post? Sunday Sevens number 200 – eek how did that happen? Have I really been writing about what’s happened during my weeks for 200 weeks? If you have been with me from the start I reckon you deserve some kind of reward for your stamina! Thank you to everyone who’s been reading my posts for so long whether you’re a newbie to Postcard from Gibraltar or have been dipping in and out for years, I appreciate your company – thank you!

By the way, I had lots of fun walking around the town centre looking for ‘200’s for this photo collage (thank goodness Gibraltar’s dialing code is 200!!).

Here’s what we’ve been up to this week:

Beach day

Last Sunday and Monday were spent doing laundry from our trip to Portugal last week and putting our home back together after having contractors in to do some much needed jobs in our absence. Tuesday, though, was a beach day. It was lovely down at Sandy Bay. I stupidly thought that after a long summer of using factor 50 suncream I could throw caution to the wind and go down to factor 30. I was wrong. a bit of previously unexposed flesh couldn’t cope with it and I got a bit frazzled. That’ll teach me. I’m back on The factor 50.

Market day in La Linea

I’m on the hunt for some fabric to recover our dining room chairs. I have a design in my mind and headed to La Linda’s Wednesday market to try and buy some. Unfortunately the stall holders didn’t have what I wanted. We did have a nice lunch at Cafe Modelo in La Linea town centre (their chips are really rather nice) and had a bit of a walk about – it made a nice change,

Lovely sunset

On Wednesday evening we enjoyed a glorious sunset over the Bay. The photo doesn’t really do it justice.

Thursday swim

I took the Little Postcards to the Europa open air pool on Thursday, it was lovely. I didn’t take any photos in the pool but am always amazed at the waterfall above it.

Bougainvillea blooms

I have included this bougainvillea a few times in Sunday Sevens over the years. It always seems to be in bloom and was laden with flowers when we walk past it this week.

Squeezing the last bit out of the day

On Friday we stayed on the beach until the last rays of sunshine had disappeared over the Rock. The Little Postcards were having so much fun in the sea and burying each other in the sand. It seemed such a shame to leave.

Busy day in the Bay

I happened to look out of the window yesterday and thought it looked really rather busy out in the Bay. There were ferries heading back and to to Morocco and tankers bunkering in Gibraltar waters as well as huge container ships heading to Algeciras port. I think the only day it’s quiet out there is Christmas Day.

And that brings this week’s 200th Sunday Sevens to a close.

I forgot to include this last week… here’s a little compilation of my July highlights.

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

Thanks for stopping by!

Summer Craft Challenge 2019 (Week 6)

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And so we are now two thirds of the way through our school summer break here in Gibraltar, and so far, I’m pleased to say, we have all survived!!

Here’s week 6 of my summer craft challenge…

Day 36 Saturday 3rd August

Last Saturday we made our way home from our lovely holiday in Portugal. I managed a little spot of crochet while we sat in the border queue to cross back into Gibraltar.

Day 37 Sunday 4th August

Sunday was all about post holiday laundry duties and putting our home back together after the contractors had done their stuff while we were away.,.. as I write this on Saturday, almost a week later, the apartment is still a work in progress! On Sunday, I wasn’t in the right frame of mind for crochet but I did find ten minutes to flick through the latest edition of Simply Crochet. Does that count?!

Day 38 Monday 5th August

A plump Dino body in progress in front of the telly…

Day 39 Tuesday 6th August

A Dino tail in progress on the beach…

Day 40 Wednesday 7th August

Dino arms today…

Day 41 Thursday 8th August

This is pretty much all I can show you of this little chap for now until he’s gifted in a couple of weeks’ time. I promise I will share a picture then…

Day 42 Friday 9th August

Another spot of beach crochet and another little dinosaur part…

And that brings this week’s Summer Craft Challenge to a close. Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday Sevens #199 4.8.19

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Hello there! I hope you’re well and have had a good week. Last Saturday we packed up the car and headed off on a road trip to Portugal…. here’s some of what we got up to:

Olá Portugal!

We drove to the lovely seaside town of Alvor in the Algarve. We have visited this part of the world before and spent some time on day trips here before but really fancied being able to spend the evening enjoying the many bars & restaurants rather than just grabbing a quick lunch or ice cream before heading back to our accommodation. This time we rented an apartment in the fishing town and really enjoyed all it had to offer.

Alvor medieval fair

For most of our stay there was a Medieval fair going on at night. There were multiple food stalls, entertainment with ye olde worlde musicians and characters wandering about. There was even a medieval merry-go-round – it didn’t get many takers as far as we could see, the more modern one with hobby horses and fire engines next door was more of a pull for the little ones.

Down at the waterpark

We had a day at a water park on Tuesday – not something you’d normally catch us doing but we met up with old friends while we were away and one of their sons had his birthday last week so this was his choice. I was very brave and went on the ‘Disco River’ slide and screamed all the way down. Littlest asked me not to ride with him again after that…

Beach day

The Little Postcards had a great time last week, not only did we go water sliding, we had 4 trips to the beach. I have to admit, this one is rather spectacular don’t you agree?

Chocolate heaven!

Now do you remember those evening delights to enjoy in Alvor? This has got to be one of them. (I may be regretting some of the naughty things we ate now I’m home and reunited with my scales :-/ ) How about this for a build your own dessert? What a treat…. I went for chocolate centre, dark chocolate coating with Oreo and KitKat crumbly topping on mine ;-).

One last Portuguese sunset

And so our time in Alvor came to an end, a lovely holiday and some lovely memories.

Back home!

There she is! The Rock in which we stand, back home to Gibraltar, just in time for a plane to land and another to take off again!

Thanks for stopping by! Sunday Sevens was first created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.

If you would like to see a bit more about Alvor, you can pop over to my post all about it from four years ago.

Sunday Sevens #197 21.7.19

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Hello there! I hope you’ve had a good week! Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens, seven pictures from the last seven days….

Beautiful building

I had a meeting in this beautiful old building on Monday. I have walked past it countless times on my wanders around Gibraltar but never set foot inside before. Wow, what a stunning staircase!

Sunshine through the green!

I drove past this banana (I think) leaf on Tuesday and the sunlight shining through it caught my eye. When I walked past it later, I had to take a photo!

Marbella

We had a midweek trip to Marbella. The old town is just so pretty.

The breakfast of champions

We went out for breakfast on Thursday morning – what a treat! Never had new potatoes with my eggs Benedict before… it was delicious though!

Levanter galore!

It was a rather grey but humid day on Friday. We went to the beach… it was rather quiet! (I wonder why?!) The Little Postcards enjoyed themselves in spite of the weather.

Beautiful bougainvillea

I walk past this beautiful bougainvillea every so often and it almost all year round looks fab. We’ve had mixed results when we’ve tried to grow it – this one gets a gold star!

And that’s all from me for this week. I hope it’s been a good one for you.

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

Sunday Sevens #195 7.7.19

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First week of the school summer holidays over already! Just another 8 to go…

Saharan dust at sunset

The calm before the busy week ahead…. a Saharan dust sunset last Sunday evening.

We’re watching you!

On Monday we went to the beach – better start the holiday as we mean to go on… it was lovely! While we were there we were watching HMS Echo mapping the sea bed off the East coast of the Rock.

New pool

Gibraltar has a new /old pool. The former MOD Nuffield Pool was handed back to the Gibraltar Government a while back and was left empty and unused (which is a terrible waste). Anyway, a couple of weeks ago it was opened to the public for the first time (previously you had to have MOD connections to get in). It is utterly marvelous and I can see us making use of it a lot this summer – we went twice this week!

Gib in the news

On Thursday morning Gibraltar hit the news, a tanker containing Iranian oil and suspected of heading to Syria (in breach of EU sanctions) was seized by the Gibraltar Government with the help of the Royal Marines. We took a drive around to the Rock to see it, we spied it just off the South West coast beyond the lighthouse.

Another beach day

I’ve got this beach thing sorted I think! It takes me a few attempts to get into my stride with what to take etc. Now the Little Postcards are a bit older I can actually take the risk of looking at a book without fear of them getting into too much bother – this is a very nice development! Next week I think my crochet will have to come too…

Calentita time!

Calentita came to town on Friday night. The annual food festival takes over the main Casemates Square and Market Place (below) with food stalls, tables, musical acts and cookery demonstrations. We always get there early for a quick feed with the Little Postcards before it gets too busy later on.

Island Games

Last night, the NatWest International Island Games kicked off in Gibraltar at the new (not quite finished yet) Europa Point Sports Complex. Teams from 21 visiting islands from St Helena to Greenland, the Isle of Man to Sark arrived. Gibraltar will host them in a number of sports for the next week. Be prepared for a rather sports inspired Sunday Sevens next week!

And that brings this week’s rather busy Sunday Sevens to a close. I hope it’s been a good one for you. Until next time, bye for now!

Sunday Sevens – which features 7 photos from the last 7 days was first created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.

Sunday Sevens #145 15.7.18

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That week went fast! First week of the school holidays over already, and we got through unscathed! It’s been a week of sporting activities for the children and lazy beach trips, and a fair bit of eating… the diet starts tomorrow 😉

Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens …

Things didn’t go to plan

Last Sunday, we did something we don’t normally do, we took a drive out into Spain to go for lunch. Unfortunately our trip got slightly scuppered by long tailbacks on the motorway very soon after joining it. We took the executive decision to cut our trip short, not fancying spending longer than necessary in a hot car with children in the back. Fortunately for us, the next motorway exit was in sight, so we turned round and came back to Gibraltar for lunch. If we hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have been able to gorge myself on this lovely chocolatey dessert….

Getting nowhere fast

More traffic problems happened on Monday, this time in Gibraltar. After almost 9 years living here you would have thought by now I’d learn to avoid the roads around the airport when there are planes due to land! (For those unfamiliar with Gibraltar: the main road to the border with Spain cuts across the airport runway, so when a plane’s due to land or takeoff, that road has to be closed and it has an impact on traffic nearby bringing it to a standstill).

A summer stroll

Bearing in mind my recent traffic problems, I opted for walking for much of the rest of the week! You certainly get to see and experience a lot more, even if you are a bit sweaty when you get to your destination!

Got enough toppings on that?!

So, at the end of that walk (above) there was this lovely pizza waiting for my lunch! It was super tasty but I had to opt for a knife and fork to eat it with all those toppings!!

Stargazing

I’m rather pleased with my lillies from last year, I think they’re call stargazer lillies. They have come back again, and flowered this week and are even better than last year!

School holiday sports programme

We are very lucky here in Gibraltar to have a comprehensive summer sports and leisure programme set up for school children during the summer holidays. There are all sorts of things from summer training for different sports, art and design classes and even history walks around the town. It gives the 8 week-long summer holiday a bit of structure and in many cases is free, or requires a small fee to be paid.

Sanctuary

One of the few benefits of visiting the beach on a windy day, is that the chiringuito was empty! We popped to the beach at Sandy Bay on Friday morning not realising quite how windy it was going to be. After half an hour of being sand blasted, we headed to the beach bar/cafe for refuge and coffee. Normally packed out with beach goers seeking shade and refreshment, we almost had the place to ourselves!we’ve enjoyed a couple of beach days this week, it would be rude not to seeing as we have so many beaches nearby! (You can read all about Gibraltar’s beaches here.)

Thanks for stopping by to read my Sunday Sevens, I’ve noticed I have a few new people following my blog lately, thank you for that! I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series, and I’ll be back again next week!