Our rather famous ‘wild’ inhabitants here in Gibraltar just had to feature in this week’s photo challenge! What are they talking about I wonder?
My favourite place here has to be the Med Steps, and they are covered with ‘wild’ flowers in Spring.
It’s not just the Rock which has ‘wild’ inhabitants, we have beautiful dolphins in our waters too…
Next week’s Postcard from Gibraltar Friday Photo Challenge is ‘sunset’.
This week’s photo challenge is ‘storm’. Many times I have tried and failed to get a decent storm photo. This one (above) was taken on Southwold Common in Suffolk last summer during an amazing thunderstorm. It was after 10 o’clock at night, and between the lightning flashes it was pitch black apart from the neon lights on the circus big top in the distance. It was so cloudy though that the whole sky lit up rather than seeing the forks of lightning I was hoping for.
Living where we do, in Gibraltar, we often witness some great storms – especially across the Bay of Gibraltar. One day I watched this belting rain cloud roll in from the Strait of Gibraltar. It turned an otherwise bright day to instant nighttime.
And at last, after many years of trying to catch a ‘proper’ lightning shot, I got one. This was looking straight ahead outside our front door one stormy evening.
Next week’s Friday photo challenge is ‘climb’.
As we prepare for Remembrance Sunday this weekend, Remembrance is a fitting theme for this week’s Friday photo challenge.
This year, our attention is drawn to World War One, as it’s 100 years ago this year that it came to an end on Armistice Day. To mark this, there’s a special exhibition on in Gibraltar at the moment to remember the Rock’s involvement in the conflict.
Since arriving in Gibraltar almost a decade ago, I’ve become aware of the role of the Rock in the Battle of Trafalgar, and of course, in the Second World War, but naively didn’t realise it’s involvement in WW1.
It was strategically important for fueling ships, treating injured servicemen and transporting supplies.
Hundreds of injured troops were transported from Gallipoli in Turkey to Gibraltar, to be treated in the military hospital.
Among the exhibition is the story of local Gibraltarian soldier Manuel Peralta, who fought, was injured and then fell in love with his nurse. They later went on to marry.
This wonderful exhibition by the Gibraltar National Archives gives a much deeper understanding of the effect of WW1 on Gibraltar as well as its role in supporting the wider war effort across Europe.
Out and about, Gibraltar has its own war memorials, this one (above) was built following WW1, but now serves as a memorial for the fallen in both World Wars.
The American Steps memorial (above) was built by the United States to remember its servicemen who were lost when the US Navy ship USS Chauncey was hit in the Strait of Gibraltar.
Next week’s challenge is Storm.
Hmm tunnels, you would think the person who came up with this challenge lives in a place with tunnels! Well if you believe Wikipedia, Gibraltar has 34 miles (55 km) of tunnels, which is quite remarkable considering how small the Rock is (2.6 square miles/ 6.7 square km).
We have tunnels you can visit as a tourist (top) and ones you back walk or drive through to get about (Keightley Way).
There are tunnels you really shouldn’t drive a bus through! And some just for pedestrians (Med Steps).
Next week’s Friday photo challenge is ‘Remembrance’.
It may be a very small one, but Gibraltar is a city.
It was granted city status in the late 1960s and even has two cathedrals, one Catholic and the other one Anglican.
It’s also our home.
Next week’s Friday photo challenge is ‘Tunnel’.
In amongst all the traditional square shaped buildings in Gibraltar, there are a few with curves…
Even the new high schools being built at the minute have rounded corners!
Next week’s photo challenge is ‘City Life’.
This week’s photo challenge theme is ‘nocturnal’ and here’s one of our little nighttime visitors. These geckos crawl around on our frosted glass windows on summer nights waiting to pounce on any moths which may pass by. It’s like watching a nature documentary unfolding on our kitchen and bathroom windows some nights, and rather gruesome at times.
We do have bats too, but they wouldn’t oblige and stay still long enough for me to photograph them!
Next week’s theme is: curve.
This week’s photo challenge theme is ‘purple’, I spied this autumn crocus on my Monday morning walk up the Rock. But how about some purple stalactites? You can find them in St Michael’s Cave…
I spotted this purple Bee in Manchester, you can read all about the Bees here.
I just love a hydrangea…
And a little purple plant I painted at watercolour class…
So that’s this week’s photo challenge entry done, now to take a look back at what everyone else has been up to over the summer:
As things got a bit hectic at times during the summer I didn’t manage to do a monthly round-up, so here’s a mega round-up of some of the entries to the weekly Postcard from Gibraltar Friday photo challenge (the photos are from Instagram and were taken by other people taking part in the Postcard from Gibraltar Friday photo challenge), thank you to everyone who’s taken part!
Week 27 : Golden
A golden sunrise (above) and 4th July fireworks (below)
Margaret at The Crafty Creek joined in with this one, she included a golden retriever and some stunning shots of golden roses in her entry.
Week 28 : Favourite
Animals are always popular!
…. but if you fancy an adorable tale about a precious favourite toy, hop on over to Wild Daffodil.
Margaret has a lovely selection of favourites in her entry over on The Crafty Creek.
Week 29 : Button
Aren’t these button pictures cute? Sandra at Wild Daffodil made some beautiful crocheted buttons…
Week 30 : Seaside
Seagulls always bring the seaside to mind…
As does a funfair!
Sandra at Wild Daffodil shared a fabulous pebbly picture and poem for the seaside theme this week!
Week 31 : Garden
Our beautiful Alameda Botanical Gardens featured this week as well as the garden at Kensington Palace.
A lovely walled garden in West Wales features in Sandra’s post on her Wild Daffodil blog.
Week 32 : Steps
From Kuala Lumpur to Upper Town in Gibraltar….
….to paddy fields in Bali with The Crafty Creek!
Week 33 : Reflective
Isn’t this quilt stunning?! And that sky…
Over on her Wild Daffodil blog, Sandra featured the most stunning baptismal font for her entry for ‘reflective’.
Some gorgeous reflections feature in Margaret’s Crafty Creek post.
Week 34 : Stitch
This marvelous cross-stitched wolf has his eye on you…
Margaret’s beautiful silk ribbon embroidery is just breathtaking in her Crafty Creek entry for stitch…
Sandra at Wild Daffodil has been creating things since she was a child, and judging by her Instagram account she is a prolific crocheter, here is her ‘stitch’ entry.
Week 35 : Viewpoint
Randall made me giggle with this one…
…read the comment.
And it was a scenic rather than moral viewpoint which Margaret at The Crafty Creek opted for for her entry.
Week 36 : Waterways
The Crafty Creek waterways entry features some beautiful waterways too…
Week 37 : Pride
Different definitions of ‘pride’ featured…
Week 38 : Autumn
Margaret at The Crafty Creek has some stunning autumn colours in her blog post!
Week 39 : Delicate
Sandra at Wild Daffodil featured a beautifully delicate dahlia in her post.
Margaret at Crafty Creek had some incredibly delicate creations…
Thank you all for taking part in the photo challenge this summer!
Next week’s theme is ‘nocturnal’.
When I think of waterways, it’s the Norfolk Broads which spring to mind. This summer, as we have done many times before, we visited the Broads while visiting family members who live near by.
This time though, we got up close and personal with the waterways and explored them by canoe. It was probably the best day of the holiday for me, it was quiet, calm and so beautiful to be able to slow down and take in all the surroundings. There were literally hundreds of dragon flies flitting about close to the surface of the water.
We also visited this stretch of the Broads at Burgh Castle (below), which has history right back to the Roman occupation of the area…
We enjoyed a particularly pretty sunset there from a Broadside pub beer garden!
Next week’s photo challenge is ‘pride’.
The word reflective can mean several things; a reflected image, light or heat, a geometrical transformation resulting in a mirror image and deep thought. So here’s examples of all of those things….
The first photo was taken on the beach in Spain, and was just so beautiful. We’d gone on a (rare) peaceful evening stroll along the beach and watched as the sun disappeared over the horizon. It’s at times like this that I find myself pondering the most important things in life.
Another sunset photo, this time in Toulouse in France while we were there on holiday last year. The River Garonne was so still and calm, a perfect surface to reflect the bridges and the Ferris wheel.
And finally, the Rock reflected in a wing mirror while heading off on a shopping trip earlier this week.
Next week’s Friday photo challenge is ‘Stitch’.
