Sunday Sevens #101 17.9.17

Good morning! Welcome to this week’s edition of Sunday Sevens, a look at the past seven days with seven photos…

National Day 

Last Sunday was National Day here in Gibraltar. 10th September 1967 was a very special day in Gibraltar’s recent history as it was the day that the Gibraltarian people voted overwhelmingly to remain British in a sovereignty referendum. For that reason, National Day is celebrated on 10th September.

As usual, there was a political rally, concerts and lots of celebrations and partying while everyone is dressed in the national colours of red and white. We headed into town to soak up the atmosphere and then headed home to have a family barbecue. It was a lovely day.

More summery weather

Full days restarted at Gibraltar’s schools after National Day but the weather still thought it was the height of summer this week! It was the perfect opportunity to hit the beach and take the advantage of it being so quiet! Sadly I just had time to admire it from above before heading off.
Levanter

The Levanter was back this week too. Despite the cloud and wind it was pretty muggy and warm. It does cast a moody atmosphere over the Rock at times. 
Whoops!


You know those moments when you want the ground to open up?? One morning I was on my way into the multistory car park in town (if you have a Gibraltar ID card you can park there for free during the day time). So I was sitting at the carpark barrier waving my ID card in front of the card reader attempting to make he barrier lift and let me in. It wasn’t budging.

A very helpful young security guard made his way over to the car ‘what’s the problem madam?’ he asked. ‘The machine won’t let me in!’ I explained. ‘That’s your driving license madam!’ was his reply…. whoops! That’ll be why it wasn’t working. (Hangs head in embarrassment and hurrily digs out ID card) thank goodness there wasn’t a big queue behind me at the time!


Sunset on the East side 

One evening this week I was over on the east side of the Rock as the sun was going down behind me. The pretty colour of the sky behind the flowers from the aloes (I think) just looked so lovely.

Birthday party fun

We had a birthday party here yesterday. The birthday boy asked to decorate his own cake (using sweets and in the design of a Pokeball). I can’t tell you how pleased I was to hand over the cake decoration responsibility to him. No stress for me and he loved doing it – win, win!

Sunday morning 


This Sunday Sevens I only had six suitable photos to include, so here’s my view just now. I love Sunday mornings like this, there’s no rush to get people ready for school, it’s bright and sunny and I have the time to sit for longer than necessary to digest my toast! I opened the window and there is just that distant hint of autumn on the breeze, that clean, damp smell. 

Regular readers to the blog and those of you familiar with Gibraltar will know that the seasons we enjoy here are not at all like those you get in Britain. I really miss that. So these fleeting moments when you get a hint of a season (other than pouring rain and lashing wind in winter and hot, hot sun in summer) are very precious. 

When I caught scent of it this morning I was immediately transported to the National Trust properties I visited in my childhood and with my boys before coming to Gib. Brown damp leaves, conker and acorn hunting and raindrops on cobwebs. Ahhh….

I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for Sunday Sevens.

A stroll through the clouds… 

I wasn’t planning on going for a walk up the Med Steps this morning, but I’m so glad I did. It was beautiful and I also got the chance to climb up through the clouds again. You may remember I took a similar walk like this just under a year ago… A mini stroll in the mist.

The sun was shining as we set off from the western side of the rock but as we walked around to the eastern side it was a bit cloudy. You could still feel the  sunshine beating down through the clouds though.

Looking up the sky immediately above us was so clear and bright!


  

As we climbed and looked out to sea it became obvious the clouds were actually forming a low blanket which the top of Gibraltar was just poking up out of.

From the summit you could just spy the northern tip poking out above the clouds.

Looking north

Looking south towards Morocco, the clouds were creeping around from the Mediterranean and into the Strait of Gibraltar.

Looking south
To the north, on the western side, the airport runway and part of town had been hidden from view as the misty cloud swept around and into the Bay.

Looking north west
We headed back down the Rock after our exertions in the cool shade feeling proud of ourselves for having achieved our goal. Within an hour the two cloudy arms had joined across the Bay and were encircling us in a giant cloudy hug. 

I drove into town to find myself severely underdressed (the T shirt was a bad idea!) and shrouded in cloud…. Can you believe these two photos (above and below) were taken just 10 minutes apart?!

Looking up the Rock from town
I’m pleased to report that the cloud has now burned off and we are basking in bright sunshine and blue skies!

Ahhh that’s better!

Main Street
How many seasons in one morning?! The weather and the micro climates around the Rock are part of the fun of living here.  It’s not just the apes, British Bobbies and red phone boxes that make Gibraltar unique.