Remembrance

This week didn’t quite start out as planned, I had a poorly Little Postcard off school with a nasty bug. Thankfully, so far my ninja-like skills at disinfecting every surface in the house has meant no one else has succumbed….yet. As a consequence, much of the start of the week was spent at home on nurse duty.

I’m pleased to report that he is fully recovered and the week improved greatly after that! Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens:

Gibraltar remembers

Last Sunday, of course was Armistice Day and Gibraltar paid tribute with what’s believed to be the world’s biggest ‘Tommy’ projection on to the North face of the Rock. The image of poppies was also projected into Moorish Castle after dark.

Like a mill pond…

I managed to escape the house of sickness briefly on Monday and ended up parking out by the small boat marina. The water was so still and reflected the Rock beautifully.

Not a day for the beach…

After a day indoors on Tuesday I had an errand to run on Wednesday morning by Eastern beach. It didn’t look too appealing! Winter’s here…

Gibraltar Literary Festival

By Thursday things returned to normal and just in time for a fab event in Gibraltar, the Gibraltar Literary Festival. It’s in its sixth year, and I went along to a few of the events. It’s by far my favourite annual Gibraltar event, there’s such a buzz in town and I just love it!

Coffee on the boat…

On Friday I got to do something quite exciting and out of the ordinary for me. I met one of the visiting writers who has been here for the Literary Festival for a project I’m working on. He has been following Postcard from Gibraltar for a while now and it was super to meet him in real life. I’m very grateful for him taking time out of his hectic schedule to have coffee and a chat with me on the Sunborn.

One of the things I love about living here is the people you meet and the opportunities which can arise.

All ready for the match!

Gibraltar was hosting Armenia in the UEFA Nations League on Friday, Moorish Castle was wearing its kit in anticipation. Unfortunately the result didn’t go Gibraltar’s way after the last two wins, but you can’t win them all.

Naval visitors

We have a couple of Royal Navy ships in port at present. This, I think, was HMS Diamond as she came into port at the end of the week.

Here comes the rain!

It’s been a bit damp of late here in Gibraltar. So far, I’ve been lucky enough to miss the worst of it, but I did get a bit of a soaking yesterday. The bad weather has continued today….

That’s it for Sunday Sevens this week, thanks for stopping by! As always, I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

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.