globe december 2014

Globe Magazine Gibraltar

Nº 143 DECEMBER 2014

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Front Cover: ALBERT HAMMOND (in Concert at the Queen’s Cinema)Photography: Johnnie Bugeja

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FRANCOISE ATLAN REVIVED THE SPIRIT OF GRANADA DURING THE GIBRALTAR LITERARY FESTIVAL

JOANNA NEISH: THE NEW FACE OF BOYD’S

THE 2015 LEXUS NX 300H

THE POWDER ROOM

THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE OF 1914

WINE TASTING AT THE MEDITERRANEAN ROWING CLUB ORGANISED BY LEWIS STAGNETTO LTD AND COURTESY OF DISTILLERIA BOTTEGA

DISTILLERIA BOTTEGA

BOTTEGA: THE WINES SAMPLED

BOTTEGA WINES: WINE TASTING DINNER AT SAFFRON RESTAURANT WITH DISTILLERIA BOTTEGA AND COURTESY OF LEWIS STAGNETTO

NEWS FROM THE CAPTAIN

ESSENTIAL SERVICES CHARITY WALK

FRANCOISE ATLAN INVOLVES GIBRALTAR IN HER FUTURE PROJECTS

STOCKING FILLERS

SANTA CLAUS AND THE ‘SHROOMS

THE LADBROKE TROPHY

HOSTING A CHRISTMAS DINNER PARTY

ALBERT HAMMOND IN CONCERT: THE SONGBOOK TOUR

ISOLAS ANNOUNCES THE APPOINTMENT OF ITS FIRST CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

13TH GIBRALTAR INTERNATIONAL DANCE FESTIVAL 2015

THE BEST RECIPES OUR CUISINE

WHAT’S HAPPENING DOWN TOWN?

I.D.O. EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS

HACIENDA ZORITA: HAM, CHEESE AND WINE TASTING AT THE CALPE ROWING CLUB ORGANI-SED BY SACCONE & SPEED (GIBRALTAR) LTD AND COURTESY OF HACIENDA ZORITA

YOUNG ENTERPRISE

TUNE INTO DEAD CITY RADIO

ST BERNADETTE’S RESOURCE CENTRE DESIGN 2014 CHRISTMAS STAMPS

CHRISTMAS COCKTAILS

GIBUNCO GIBRALTAR INTERNATIONAL LITERARY FESTIVAL 2014

EY LAUNCHES NEW LITERARY INITIATIVE FOR GIBRALTAR CHILDREN

THE BEATLES – TUNE IN

WHY DOES SANTA BRING GIFTS?

GABRIELLA SARDEÑA: FASHION DESIGNER

RETURN TO THE KASBAH

HAVING A GROWHN UP RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PARENTS

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Nº 143 - DECEMBER 2014

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Françoise Atlan revived the ‘Spiritof Granada’ during the Gibraltar

Literary FestivalFrench singer, Francoise Atlan celebrated the Sephardic culture in poetry, words and song du-ring a lovely music event inclu-ded in the ‘Gibunco Gibraltar Literary Festival’ that started on the 14th running up to the 16th of November. The artist offered on the 16th at 12:00 pm at The Convent a show called ‘Spirit of Granada’ where She performed traditional Sephardic works in the Jewish-Spanish and Jewish-Moroccan languages of Ladino, Judezmo and Haketia.

Atlan was born into a Sephar-dic Jewish family in France and is one of the best performers of Sephardic romance. She talked about the history of the Sephar-dic tradition and the expulsion of Sephardic Jews from Spain.

This French singer possesses a quality of voice that brings great authenticity to the music and Atlan’s Jewish roots led her to develop a passion for tradi-tional music, particularly from the Mediterranean basin. She has carried out extensive re-search into the subject and has performed to acclaim across the world including in London, New York, Morocco and Spain.

Granada was the last bastion of the Sefardic – literally the Jews of Spain – culture in Spain in 1492 and with this event,

Françoise Atlan conveyed liste-ners in subtle poetic and mu-sical travel through the three monotheist Andalusia: Jew, Christian and Muslim.

ABOUT FRANÇOISE ATLAN

Françoise Atlan is a French sin-ger, born in a Sephardic Jewish family in France. Endowed with a natural voice developed in her early years, she sings “nawbas”, which are usually reserved for male singers. Welcomed with equal enthusiasm in Morocco (Fes, Rabat, Casablanca…), in

or in the traditional Andalusian Arabic repertoires. Nowadays, Françoise Atlan chooses to live and work between Morocco and France.

Considered as one of the best performers of Sephardic roman-ce, she is a singer, who posses-ses a quality of voice that brings greater authenticity to the mu-sic. Her performances are the result of exhaustive musicolo-gical research (Ethnomisocolist and Laureat of the “Prix Villa Medicis Haures les Murs”), and she shows the highest respect for the established traditions of the genre. Her Jewish roots led Atlan to develop a passion for traditional music, and particu-larly music from the Mediterra-nean Basin.

In her mind, style is still the core of a musical work. Her classical background (first price of Pia-no Chamber music from the conservatoire of Marseille, Gra-duate of Musicology for Uni-versity of Aix en Provence), she stands beyond the predefined traditions because her thorough knowledge of Andalusian tradi-tion have enabled her to deve-lop an unmistakable, highly ex-pressive style, which combines vocal technique and Sephardic sensibility – the rich heritage of the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492.

New York (Carnegie Hall), in London (British Library, Queen Elisabeth Hall), Switzerland (Montreux, Yverdon-les-Ba-ins…) and in France (Salle Ple-yel, Theatre de la Ville, Musee du Louvre), and received warm applauses in Belgrade, Mon-treal, Otawa, Mexico,Tokyo and Kyoto.

She also achieved success in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Tunisia, the Balkans (ex-Yugoslavia), Is-rael and continued her research on Mediterranean repertoires as well as in the ancient occidental


Text By Justine Fava – Cartwright

Gibraltar has always been lacking when it comes to venues for events and understandably so with space being such an issue. As a result, many locals have had their special day across the border where there is so much more choice, but things are slowly changing and locals are looking more and more at bringing their events back home. Being resourceful and creative in a town with such little space is a requirement a good Events Manager just has to have and I found one! Meet Joanna Neish. Born in Gibraltar, Joanna studied Tourism in the UK and within that same Degree, she covered event management, which she found a love for; her experience in organising events range from Gibraltar Day in London, the London Boat Show and creating corporate events for the Nestles Company whom Joanna used to work for. Back home, Joanna

Joanna NeishThe new face at Boyd’s

time of the year, Joanna took on the wedding month of September! This has prepared her for the up and coming challenge of the Festive season and to market Boyd’s in the best light, make the changes necessary to keep Boyd’s at the top of its game and get to know her product very well for prospective clients.

Boyd’s is a fascinating and versatile venue with a wonderful military history dating back to the 1700’s when Major General Robert Boyd engineered the fortress to protect the Rock against invading forces. Having had several uses since those days, the Bastion was converted to Kings Bastion Leisure Centre in 2007.

Joanna is responsible for a series of interlinked spacious halls and two outside terraces on the top floor of the Kings Bastion Leisure Centre. One

has worked alongside her brother James Neish and Stage One Productions on many of James’s successful events in Gibraltar. It was after a happy stint working for Saccone & Speed (Gibraltar) Ltd where she

gained even more experience working in Marketing, Joanna applied for and was successful in getting the job of Operations and Marketing Manager for Boyds. Thrown in at the deep end and starting at the busiest


of the first jobs Joanna is overseeing is the renovation of one of the large terraces with a new all weather marquee, new raised floor, indoor heaters, integrated outdoor kitchen and general updating and beautification of the popular terrace, which is now ready. This terrace in particular lends itself perfectly for a fabulous outdoor wedding reception

and can seat up to 190 people. Although buffet and BBQ with outdoor bar have always been an option, Joanna is also introducing table service in the New Year, upping the ante yet again. Inside Boyd’s, there are so many options with the well equipped series of rooms that are equipped for live music, discos, dining and dancing with fully stocked bars and

lounge areas that any type of event can be catered for. Ideally tailored for Corporate events, Weddings, private parties, Communions and children’s parties, the list is endless and with everything ‘in house’ from catering, personalised decor, diverse menu choices, a range of entertainment and Joanna’s one on one expert service at hand, Boyd’s has to

be one of the most exciting purpose built venues available. Prices are not to be scoffed at either with so many options and within everyone’s budget, there is total flexibility when it comes to what you can do! The best option then is to have a coffee as I did and sit with the energetic and amiable Joanna, who will put you in the picture as to best cater for your

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individual needs and tailor make your event specifically for you. You can call daily from 3pm to 11pm on 200 62550 or Joanna directly on 54124000 for bookings. There is also a handy

and informative brochure you can browse through as you can do too on their Facebook page, boyds.kingsbastion or email at [email protected] for more information.

Anabel and Felix

1976 Girls’ Comprehensive Intake School reunion celebrated at Boyd’s

school reunion celebration at Boyd’s


The 2015 Lexus NX debuts with a hybrid, the NX 300h hybrid, which brings the brand’s num-ber of hybrid offerings to six; it is the most among luxury brands. The hybrid offers a real driving kick, thanks to a new transmis-sion with a kick-down function. The racers on the team insisted on splitting the hybrid battery into two separate pods for bet-ter weight distribution; with the benefit of more efficient use of cabin space.

The Lexus NX300h offers its own version of pro-active all-weather drive (AWD). Looking more sports-car than sport-uti-lity, the 2015 NX’s cabin is brist-ling with new, onboard, stan-dard and available technology, including a Lexus-first: Wireless Charging Tray for compatible phones and devices; the new Lexus Remote Touch Interfa-ce (RTI) with a touch pad; and a comprehensive Multi-infor-mation Display that features a

Lexus-first G-Force meter and boost gauge.

Perhaps to no one’s surprise, the company that is almost synon-ymous with luxury hybrids has produced by far the most fuel-efficient luxury compact cros-sover. Through its combination of a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engi-ne and multiple electric motors powered by a nickel-metal hy-dride battery pack, the NX 300h is capable of returning an esti-

mated 32 mpg combined with all-wheel drive.

There are reasons to consider the 2015 Lexus NX beyond either of its appealing power-train options and the fact that it has similar dimensions to some of its competitors but cle-ver packaging has resulted in better-than-average rear seat legroom. It also boasts bold de-sign outside and in, with exem-plary cabin construction and a

The 2015 Lexus NX 300HLexus created the luxury-utility crossover category with the original midsized RX model in 1998 and is now poised to disrupt the growing compact segment with the all-new 2015 NX. Inspired by perfor-mance vehicles, the 2015 NX unites the engineering input of racers with the impeccable touch of Lexus luxury in a design that steals the show

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long list of the latest high-tech entertainment, convenience and safety options.

BODY STYLES, TRIM LEVELS, AND OPTIONS

The 2015 Lexus NX 300h is a five-passenger, compact luxury crossover SUV. It is technically available in a single trim level. Standard equipment includes 17-inch wheels, automatic LED headlights, LED ‘fog-lights’ and running lights, rear privacy glass, heated mirrors, keyless ignition and entry, cruise con-trol, driver-selectable vehicle dynamics settings, dual-zone automatic climate control, eight-way power front seats (with two-way driver lumbar), 60/40-split-folding and recli-ning rear seats, “NuLuxe” pre-mium vinyl upholstery, a power tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, a cargo cover and an au-to-dimming rear-view mirror. Standard electronic features in-clude a 7-inch display screen, a rear-view camera, Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, Siri-based voice controls and readouts for iPhones, the Dis-play Audio electronics interface and an eight-speaker sound sys-tem with HD and satellite radio, a CD player, an auxiliary audio jack and a USB/iPod audio in-terface.

The Navigation package ob-viously includes a navigation system, but also adds the Remo-te Touch electronics interface, two additional speakers, voice control, various Lexus Enform smartphone-integrated apps and a special smartphone app that allows you to remotely con-trol and monitor various vehicle functions.

Stand-alone options include the

18-inch wheels, a blind-spot warning system (includes rear cross-traffic alert), front and rear parking sensors, adaptive cruise control (includes a pre-collision warning and vehicle preparation system), upgra-ded LED headlights, a power ‘lift-gate’, a sunroof, heated and ventilated seats, heated steering wheel and a wireless charging tray for Qi-compatible phones.

POWERTRAINS ANDPERFORMANCE

The 2015 Lexus NX 300h fea-tures a gasoline-electric hybrid ‘power-train’ that combines a 2.5-litre four-cylinder with a pair of electric motor/genera-tors supplied by a nickel-metal hydride battery pack. Together, they produce a maximum out-put of 194 horsepower. Opting

for all-wheel drive (versus front) adds a third electric motor that sends power to the rear wheels for added all-weather traction.

Fuel economy should be by far the best in the segment. Lexus estimates 33 mpg combined (35 city/31 highway) with front-wheel drive and 32 combined (33/30) with ‘all-wheel drive’.

SAFETY

Every 2015 Lexus NX 300h comes standard with antilock brakes, traction and stability control, front side airbags, full-length side curtain airbags, a driver knee airbag and a front passenger cushion airbag that prevents occupants from sub-marining under the seatbelt and off the seat. A rear-view came-ra is also standard, along with Lexus ‘Enform Safety Connect telematics’ that includes auto-matic crash notification, stolen vehicle location and an emer-gency assist button. Optional features include a blind-spot monitoring system with cross-traffic alert, as well as, a lane-departure warning system and a frontal pre-collision system (included with adaptive cruise control) that warns of a possible collision and can automatically apply the brakes in the event of driver inaction.

INTERIOR DESIGNAND SPECIAL FEATURES

The NX’s cabin is exquisite as is the exterior, and exudes a cool, modern vibe that won’t be mis-taken for anything else in the segment. Construction is abso-lutely top-notch, with materials that look and feel rich -- espe-cially in the available two-tone-colour schemes. Soft leather lines the seats and passenger-

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side dash, as well as, the padded areas that thoughtfully cushion the centre console to keep your legs from whacking against a hard surface. Details like con-trast stitching, wood trim and a modern analog clock are taste-fully applied.

The high-mounted climate con-trols are easy to reach and see, while other secondary controls are intuitive. The infotainment controls are less so, however. The standard Display Audio sys-tem utilizes a knob-and-screen system similar to Mercedes’ COMAND system. We haven’t had a chance to try it, but a ma-jority of NX models are likely to leave the dealer lot with naviga-

tion and thus the latest iteration of Remote Touch. Various me-nus and icons are selected with a console-mounted touchpad (like a laptop’s). There is hap-tic feedback through that pad when you click something, but in general, we find that using Remote Touch draws too much of your attention from the road.

Rear passengers in the NX should find a generous amou-nt of space, at least compared with most other compact lu-xury crossovers. Cargo space is skimpy, however, even if the NX 300h avoids the typical hybrid problem of significantly redu-ced cargo capacity over a tradi-tionally powered version.

DRIVING IMPRESSIONS

If you’re expecting the NX 300h to drive like a smaller version of the RX, you’re either going to be disappointed or plea-santly surprised. The ride is a bit firmer, the steering is more responsive, and body motions are more controlled when dri-ving around turns or going over bumps and dips. There is a sense of connection between the car and driver that is not present in Lexus’ other SUVs.

The NX 300h features the sort of hybrid driving experience with which current owners of Toyota or Lexus hybrids should be familiar. That includes quiet,

all-electric propulsion when accelerating from a stop that lasts for a duration largely de-termined by how gingerly or energetically you feel like acce-lerating. Either way, the gaso-line engine will at some point seamlessly kick in.

The Lexus NX 300h has a sen-se of style and purpose about it and it’s thoroughly pleasant to drive, spacious and, in the right environment, likely to prove efficient as well.

The new Lexus NX 300h can be viewed at Bassadone Motors, 42 Devil’s Tower Road, Tel: 200 79004, distributors in Gibraltar for Lexus.


The Powder RoomText by Richard Cartwright

Photographs by Skye Montegriffo

The latest wonderful face cream on the market and how dishy George Clooney’s been looking lately are not the kind of to-pics chatted and giggled about in this powder room...no, no, no! Bereavement counselling, sexually transmitted deceases, drug rehabilitation, drink and drive issues and child abuse, are just some of the subjects discussed on GBC Television’s fortnightly programme, ‘The Powder Room.’ Four contribu-tors are available to choose from to deliver the goods every two weeks - Franchesca Cartwright, Michelle Rugeroni, Naomi Qui-

many open cases of children at risk in Gibraltar...”

“Well, I was eager to take part because the chatty format ap-pealed to me. I too joined during the ‘Women Unleashed’ series. I think it’s good to have the mix of personalities we have on the panel,” Franchesca tells me, “I, especially, like the fact we tackle those subjects you would norma-lly think are ‘taboo topics’ for a small community such as ours.”

Suellen was added to the pa-nel at the start of this ‘Powder Room’ series and says, “I love doing it. I’m always mindful of being 100% honest in my con-tributions and I like the way we

gley and Suellen Shacaluga – who take turns to form a trio, ‘controlled’ by the `matron pre-senter’ Justine Cartwright, who moderates the proceedings...

“At first, I was just a stand-in on two or three programmes when it was called ‘Women Unleashed’ and surprised at how relaxed I

was,” Naomi declares, “I get on with everyone on the panel and I think the programme offers di-fferent opinions by women of di-fferent ages and circumstances. The subjects may also help so-meone watching at home... espe-cially, during the invited guests’ interview in the second half. I was amazed to learn there are so

One contributor summed up her experience in ‘The Powder Room’ simply...”I love it,” she exclaimed! Don’t be fooled: Thick lips on the front of the panel’s desk are not meant to be a superficial comment on the programme’s content, it’s just an illustration of a lady’s room where a ‘freshening up’ may be required...and that’s where the similarity ends!


keep away from politics and re-ligion whilst offering a slightly deeper insight into the topics and interviews we deal with.”

Michelle was to join the team a little later in the series but con-curs with much of what’s been said, “Oh yes, the programme is a great idea. ‘Getting things out’ is important and perhaps helps some people with the subjects we touch upon. Also the fact we

don’t all think the same makes the show more interesting.”

I met most of the team for a chat whilst presenter Justine was recording another of her programmes dubbed, ‘Join the Club.’ In fact all those ladies present were ‘Joining the Club’ on this occasion, at a ‘cava,’ or wine tasting session. It was like, ‘The Powder Room team Join the Club’ but not in the Pow-

der Room however, it was at `My Wines’ in Chatham Cou-nterguard... Luckily, I got there early, did my interviews and left before potentially inebria-ted souls may have hijacked and complicated my interview with irrelevant suggestions of the best wine making regions of Bulgaria, the reasons why Rose wines have become popu-lar again and other far removed details, which would have ab-

solutely nothing to do with the reason for my presence there, it was, of course, to do with ‘The Powder Room’...but, such are the very welcoming properties and effects of a good ‘Reserva’ and as much as I delight in a tipple or two of a good ‘vino’, on this oc-casion, I had to say, ‘Some other time thank you but for now, I must away!’

So back to ‘The Powder Room’


and Justine the presenter, who told me the idea for the pro-gramme was influenced by ITV’s ‘Loose Women’ on British television. It could be reasona-bly assumed it’s loosely based on that successful format... “That’s correct, we ran 22 programmes in the first series, titled ‘Women Unleashed,’ subsequently chan-ging the content somewhat and the title to, ‘The Powder Room’ and by all accounts, it seems

to be going down a treat and I’m delighted by the amount of people telling me they like the programme surprisingly, many of them men!” And that’s a fact, it’s generally accepted the GBC programme is going down ex-tremely well with local viewers and others and Justine is recei-ving much praise for her pre-senting skills... “This series will be ongoing and I’m told, so far, there are no plans for it to be

discontinued.” Justine is eager to include new contributors to the show and is keen also for tho-se of you out there to e mail or write into the programme with ideas or subjects the panel could tackle, “We’d love to have more viewer participation in that res-pect. There must be subjects people would like us to raise or individuals you would like us to interview. As far as newcomers to the panel are concerned, well,

that’s more difficult but produ-cer Paula Latin and I are keen to meet any ladies, young or slightly less young, who would like to give it a try... It would be good to have a turnover of ladies on the programme and we await your contacts.” ...Get the message? Don’t be shy, be brave and join in where the sign reads, ‘ONLY FEMALES ALLOWED...’ That’s The Pow-der Room!!’


The Christmas Truce of 1914

So writes Bruce Bairnsfather about the Christmas Truce of 1914. This event was an out-break of spontaneous fraterni-zation between troops almost entirely concentrated in the British sector on the south edge of the Ypres Salient. Con-tact was in varying degrees from exchanging smokes, chatting or playing football in No-Mans-Land, to sharing meals and dinner gossip in the opponent’s trenches. It occu-rred less frequently where one or both of the opposing forma-tions were elite or hard-edged types. From its occurrence, the Christmas Truce has been looked upon as a symbol of a humanity not yet submerged by the mechanical forces of industrial-age warfare. With its ability to inspire and hold the imagination of later ge-nerations, the ‘Legend of the Christmas Truce’ might be

“A complete Boche figure suddenly appeared on the parapet and looked about. This complaint be-came infectious. It didn’t take ‘Our Bert’ long to be up on the skyline. This was a signal for more Bo-che anatomy to be disclosed, and this was replied by all our ‘Alfs’ and ‘Bills’, until, in less time than it takes to tell, half a dozen or so of each of the belligerents were outside the trenches, and were advancing towards each other in no-man’s land. A strange sight, truly!”

looked upon as a rare positive outcome of the Great War.

Those present, however, like Bairnsfather, premier cartoonist of the First World War and crea-tor of “Old Bill”, were decidedly less sentimental about it. His account above of the unauthori-zed truce is widely quoted, but no one ever adds what he wrote a few paragraphs later:

“There was not an atom of hate that day and yet, on our side, not for a moment was the will to war and the will to beat them relaxed. It was just like the interval bet-ween rounds in a friendly boxing match.’

An account of a lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards shows how some of the partici-pants took a practical approach:

“They [the Germans] took me for


a corporal, a thing I did not dis-courage, as I had an eye to going as near their lines as possible! I... then escorted them back as far as their barbed wire, having a jo-lly good look round all the time and picking up various little bits of information, which I had not had an opportunity of doing un-der fire! I went straight to HQ to report.”

The crucial thing to note is that distrust was a feature of this and

pants or the eventual course of the war, it was negligible. At the time, it made the various staffs apprehensive, but this was soon put in order. Guy Chapman tells us that a year later: “The staff, perhaps threatened by fire-eaters in London, had forbidden all fra-ternization, and to ensure their orders being carried out, com-manded slow bombardment all during December 25th.”

Author Denis Winter reports post-1914 fraternization in-cluding meetings in No-Mans-Land, joint prayer sessions by chaplains and some gestures of civility at later Christmas times. But, as the war dragged on to no apparent conclusion, even among the later New and conscript armies, nothing on the same scale as the 1914 Christmas Truce ever hap-pened again on the Western Front.

other truces occurring throug-hout the war. The English res-pected a brave and resourceful enemy but there was no love or liking. If there was no hostility, neither was there a relaxation of the will to win; if not that, then at least there was no relaxation of suspicion. And it proved, above all, to be an excellent op-portunity for a safe reconnais-sance.

There is no evidence that the

truce extended to the French front, and this is understanda-ble since they had started a ma-jor counterattack in the Cham-pagne on December 20th. The Germans were the invaders and were on French soil. The me-mories of defeat in 1871 and the loss of Alsace-Lorraine was too vivid in French memory to allow any rapprochement with the hated Boche. Frank Richards, one of the very few “other ranks” to write a book about the war after beating odds on the order of thousands to one by surviving all four years, reports that the French people “were saying all manner of nasty things about the British Army” when they “...had heard how we spent Christmas Day;” French women spat on British troops.

Finally, if the Christmas Truce had any effect on the partici-

Illustrated London News - Christmas Truce 1914


On 7th November 2014, ‘Disti-lleria Bottega’ presented six of their top wines at a wine tasting organised by their local agents and distributors Lewis Stag-netto Ltd at the Mediterranean Rowing Club.

The Event was well attended by over sixty wine enthusiasts from a cross section of our community and restaraun-teurs. The wines were pre-sented by Distilleria Bottega’s ‘Import & Export Manager’, Claudia Gambin, who went through the different stages

Wine Tasting at TheMediterranean Rowing Club

organised by Lewis Stagnetto Ltdand courtesy of Distilleria Bottega

Classico DOC’, ‘Bottega Pi-not Grigio IGT Delle Venezie’, Bottega Acino D’Oro Chianti DOCG and ‘Bottega Il Vino Dei Poeti Brunello Di Montal-cino DOCG’.

After the presentation, the guests were able to compare their views of the different wines with the experts and amongst themselves whilst savouring the well prepared canapés ‘specially’ prepared for the occasion by the MRC’s caterers. It turned out to be a truly enjoyable and interes-ting event.

of the wine making process in detail followed by the presen-tation of all six wines namely,

‘Bottega Gold Prosecco DOC’, ‘Bottega Rose Gold Pinot Nero Spumante’, ‘Bottega Soave


Distilleria Bottega: a family-owned world-renowned winery and distilleryset in the Prosecco area, the beating heart of the ‘Grappa’ tradition

Based in Bibano, in the Prosecco area, 25 miles north of Venice, Distilleria Bot-tega has been producing award-winning ‘grappas’, wines and liquors since the 1970s. Its winemaking and distillation process aims to be eco-friendly with ‘Dis-tilleria Bottega’ selling its products in over 120 countries and producing 6 million bottles per year.

Bottega was established in 1977 by Aldo

Distilleria Bottega

Bottega, a master distiller with over 30 years experience in the sector. He inheri-ted this passion for wine-making from his father, Domenico Bottega, a skillful wine merchant during the 1920s. Domenico had a true passion for the world of wines; a perceptive oenologist, who was able to recognise the best grapes when still on the vine. Hence, laying the foundation for a family legacy; a legacy, which has a three-generational history of people dealing


with wine and grappa behind it.

During the 1950s and 60s, Aldo Bottega, who had served his apprenticeship with the best master distillers in Coneglia-no, extended the vinification process to include grappa. He learned the secrets of the trade and developed some innovative techniques amongst which, the single-variety ‘Grappa’. His in-nate entrepreneurial spirit led him to set up his own distillery in 1977.

On the founder’s death in 1983, his son Sandro, helped by his sister Barbara and his brother Stefano, took over the running of the company; enhancing the company’s reputation and get-ting the company out of anon-ymity thanks to an innovative distillation process, which re-duced the alcohol content, ma-king Grappa milder and more delicate.

Sandro Bottega, the third ge-neration of the Bottega family of winemakers and distillers, expanded the family brand to include a wide range of pro-ducts, beyond ‘Grappa’. Ran-ging from the full-bodied and spicy Amarone wine, full of delicious cherry notes, to their fruity Prosecco Gold, packaged in beautifully handcrafted bott-

les, Bottega meticulously creates his wines, liqueurs and Grappas from the grape-growing process to bottling.

His hand-blown ‘Murano’ glass bottles are made according to the Venetian glass-blowing tra-dition at Bottega’s on-site glass

blowing facility. It creates each Alexander Grappa bottle by hand. The Alexander grappa line is sold worldwide and has won many design awards.

A further selling point, Bottega proudly refurbished his family’s 400-year-old distillery in its

entirety, updating it to be fully biomass-powered, which adhe-res to the more developed crite-ria of environmental protection. It is surrounded by ten hectares of vineyards.

Considering the premium that international high-end buyers increasingly place on brand history and heritage, the hand-crafted nature of Bottega’s bott-les, the mystery of Grappa and other Italian traditional spirits and the story of his family’s distillery has given Bottega a strong base from which it has grown internationally.

Between 2009 and 2011, Disti-lleria Bottega extended its wine production to Valpolicella in Veneto and Montalcino in Tus-cany. The process materialized after the acquisition and direct management of two wineries in the area. This acquisition has helped Bottega control directly the production of Amarone, Brunello, the prince of Italian red wines, and the great red wi-nes of these areas.

In 2013 Distilleria Bottega SRL increased the share capital and transformed in Bottega S.p.A. Today Bottega is a solid reali-ty distributing its products in more than 120 countries world-wide.

BOTTEGA GOLDPROSECCO DOC

Bottega Gold is a prosecco DOC Spumante Brut obtai-ned by the vinification in white of the Glera grapes grown in the Valdobbiadene hills. This area is close to the Venetian Prealps and charac-terized by a climate perfect for this native variety of gra-pe. It is brilliant with a rich and persistent foam and fine per-lage. It guarantees rare and elegant fragrances, thanks to the fermentation process, which allows the sparkling wine to be obtained directly from the must. It is fruity and flowery with scents of Golden apple, William’s pear, acacia

flowers and lily of the valley. It is quite tasty, harmonious, elegant and fresh.

It is a prestigious gift, ideal for celebrations. Perfect as an aperitif, it can be served in cocktails, with starters, first courses, barbecue, fish and poultry

BOTTEGA ROSE GOLDPINOT NERO SPUMANTE

Bottega Rose Gold is a rose sparkling wine obtained from Pinot Noir grapes from Oltrepo Pavese (Lombardia region). It has elegant orga-noleptic characteristics and a lively, light rose colour. Its unique flowery bouquet with scents of currants and wild

strawberries, is perfect for ladies’ tastes. The original packaging characterizes this bottle and makes it a presti-gious gift.

It is fresh with a good acidity, harmonious, delicate and a persistent taste.

It can be served as aperitif, to accompany any meal and it goes particularly well with vegetable oil dip, vegetarian dishes, sushi, fish, cheese and dessert. It is a pleasant after-dinner.

BOTTEGA SOAVECLASSICO DOC

The Bottega Soave Classico DOC is a white wine charac-

terised by its vibrant liveli-ness. It is obtained in the hi-lly area of villages, Soave and Monteforte, in the province of Verona (veneto region). It is a dry, partially full-bo-died and bitterish wine. It is brilliant, straw yellow and is characterized by delicate and slightly mineral scents ha-ving a good longevity. It has a full and forceful taste, which is delicate at the same time. At lunch and dinner, it goes particularly well with pasta, fish and vegetables.

BOTTEGA PINOT GRIGIO IGT DELLE VENEZIE

The Bottega Pinot Grigio IGT Delle Venezie is a dry wine with pleasant fruity


Destilleria BottegaThe Wines Sampled

scents, produced in the Ve-neto region. This wine has a brilliant, straw-yellow co-lour with copper nuances. It is characterized by a clear, fine scent with delicate fruity hints. The taste is dry, alco-holic, full and harmonious. Pinot Grigio IGT delle Ve-nezie goes particularly well with pasta, risotto and vege-tables, as well as with impor-tant fish starters. It is perfect also as an aperitif.

BOTTEGA ACINO D’ORO CHIANTI DOCG

Chianti is one of the most fa-mous and prestigious Italian red wines in the world and a symbol of the great Tus-can wine-making tradition. It is produced in the hills of Chianti in the Tuscany region with Sangiovese and Canaio-lo grapes. Acino D’Oro Bot-tega is dry, harmonious, well-balanced, slightly tannic and fresh and it has an intense ruby red colour with garnet nuances. It is characterised by a fruity, lightly spicy and flowery with scent with violet and cyclamen hints.

The Sangioves grapes, used to produce this Chianti, are

pressed and fermented with maceration in wooden vats at a controlled temperature, in order to preserve alcohol and aromas. It is followed by an ageing in oak barrels for 3 – 4 months.

It is perfect with meat dishes, salami and cheese.

BOTTEGA IL VINO DEI POETTI BRUNELLO DIMONTALCINO DOCG

Brunello di Montalcino is one of the most prestigious

Tuscan wines, well-known all over the world. Obtained from San Giovese grapes, it is soft and balanced. Persis-tent, full-bodied with fine aromas, it has a clear and characteristic bouquet with hints of berries, vanilla and spices with balsamic notes. The taste is dry, warm and robust. It is tasty and soft with a persistent and plea-sant aftertaste.

Brunello must be put on the market, accordingly to the current regulations, after the fifth year after the harvest. It is a fine wine and is very rich in resveratrol, which is a very strong antioxidant.

Limpid, intense ruby red in colour with garnet tinges.

It is a meditation wine and is perfect with game, red meat, entrecote, white truffle and ripe cheese as well as salami.


Bottega Wines

Text by Joe Adambery

Now that’s a tall claim to make for wines and an easy put-down for poets, however for the Ita-lian family winemakers, Bot-tega from Treviso, situated a mere forty miles from Venice and with vines flourishing in the heart of Tuscany in Italy, we could easily get the roman-tic connotations and become poetic ourselves with every sip of wine from that region. That was the general idea in a recent wine tasting at Saffron Restau-rant in conjunction with Lewis Stagnetto and Bottega.

Claudia Gambin, the Italian ex-port (and expert) Area Mana-ger, got things off to a smooth start after a warm introduction from Lewis Stagnetto’s head of sales, Alfred Lavagna, and a cool wine greeting of chilled Prosecco called Bottega Gold Prosecco Doc. This is a lively ‘spumante’ (sparkling wine) and was combined with ‘Chilli Cheese on Toast with Fine Her-bs.’ It was one of those delicate starter moments, which con-summated a very fine welcome marriage, the first of various with more fine food and wines still to come.

The background music was provided by the lively clinking of wine glasses, the bridesmaid was Claudia with her knowled-geable introductions to each of the five wines. The musicians were the two dozen wine tas-ters gathered for the feast. The brides, and there were two, were Samira Alwani and Gaya-tri Chavan, lifelong friends and

world food lovers. They are the charming managing partners of Saffron Restaurant, who hel-ped design and turn out all the tasty Italian flavoured delights with one of their chefs, Vincent Antonello, “The Prosecco is the product of vines and a particu-lar soil between the Dolomites and Venice. It’s served chilled from a golden bottle and it is a

golden liquid, a premium pro-duct for us.” Thus Claudia in-troduced the perfect aperitif, which is eminently suitable to go with starters and first cour-ses, BBQ, fish and poultry. The second wine was Soave Classi-co Doc, a white wine charac-terised by its vibrant liveliness. “A wine from Verona, the land of Romeo and Juliet” said Clau-dia,” It goes particularly well with pastas, fish and vegetable.

With a recommendation like that and an excellent pairing with charcoal baked Artisan Seafood Pizza, which I found delicious and hard to disagree with, there were no grounds for divorce, on the contrary- a touch more wine and a second bite of pizza confirmed that this relationship was going to last, at least till the next course and the next wine.

All too soon, we were into our third wine grandly called Pinot Grigio IGT delle Venezie. “This one is not quite as dry as you imagine,” it’s quite floral and fruity and it comes from the Veneto region. It is an excellent pairing with the Saffron Sea-food Linguini Pasta, which has a light and creamy saffron sau-ce. The tasting notes say ‘this

Wine Tasting Dinner at ‘Saffron’ Restaurant with ‘Distilleria Bottega’ and Courtesy of Lewis Stagnetto

Bottega Wines -fit for Poets (Il Vino Dei Poeti)



wine has a brilliant straw co-lour with copper nuances. The taste is dry, alcoholic, full and harmonious.’ As we all know, harmony is a beautiful thing in music, as well as, in marriages and the clink of wine glasses again added their own musical notes to this one.

Acino D’Oro Chianti DOCG is one the most prestigious Italian red wines and a symbol of great

to the wine industry because she believes there are exci-ting possibilities to introduce wines made in a traditional Italian way into the exports markets. “Sometimes the Ita-lians are very good at making artisan products but not so good at translating those pro-ducts into exports. Wine is an international product and everyone feels nice in front of a glass of wine.”

Tuscan wine making tradition. It is a blend of Sangiovese and Canaiolo grapes. Aged in oak, it is ruby red, dry, well balanced and fresh. Paired with delicately cooked pork medallions with mushrooms and marsala sauce presented with buttery parsley baby potatoes I couldn’t fault it. Samira (from Saffron) told me that the pork tenderloin was cooked with black pepper and Marsala wine and it was her

own recipe. Claudia noted on the Chianti: “We are very proud of this wine and though you may experience different kinds of Pi-not Grigio - ours is truly special.” I couldn’t agree more.

That kind of endorsement comes from someone, who is well versed in the wine indus-try and knows her grapes (so to speak) and Claudia Gam-bin does. She was attracted


“What attracts me to Bottegga is that they choose quality over compromises. I travel a lot and it helps my marketing that our wines come from such a famous region as Tuscany. Italy has twenty one regions but each one has its traditions. Tuscany is a region, which has been able to maintain its own traditions.”

“They respect nature, also the te-rritory, and they make wines in

a very peculiar way. It is impor-tant for us to be there. Our main markets are Canada and the US for Prosecco and Asia for the Red wines; that is, China, Ko-rea and Japan. Germany is our strongest market for Grappa” (a Brandy 35%-65% Alc/vol).

The tasting was nearly over and it was time for desert. The Saffron Panacotta came infused delicately with cardamom and

saffron and was served with a mango coulis. A desert to die for and the final marriage (or pairing) was with Bottega Rose Gold Pinot Nero Spumante. It comes in a gold bottle and can make a prestigious gift.’ Its unique flowery bouquet with scents of currants and wild strawberries makes it perfect for ladies.’

A marriage made in heaven?

Yes, it was-one of four marria-ges (pairings). Wine and food like a good marriage, go to-gether like a horse and carriage.

So much thought and work went into this novel Italian wine tasting that I can honestly say that Saffron Restaurant, Lewis Stagnetto and Bottega Wines really outdid themselves. It was an intimate, informative and memorable evening.


It’s hard to believe but Christ-mas is just literally around the corner, and if you’re anything like me, you haven’t done all of the shopping yet, right? Well, in fact, embarrassing admission, I haven’t done any of the shop-ping yet! But I have made one Christmas pledge already which I’d like to share with you. Please read on.....

The Christmas party season is one time of the year that busy publicans simply cannot afford to get wrong. December brings the heaviest drinks and food sa-les with people overindulging in more ways than one. Getting your offering right is essential, not only in terms of trade but also in terms of creating and maintaining relationships with customers old and new alike.

However, one thing that we can be certain of is that Captain Chris and his shipmates are re-ady and awaiting.

We spoke to Chris towards the back-end of November and he told Globe Magazine, “The Fes-tive season is upon us and we’ve got everything you need to make it a great one; whether you’re looking to enjoy a delicious festive feast or simply indulge in a bit of that Christmas spirit with a glass of mulled wine, a friendly welcome will greet you at the Ship and help you enjoy everything this season has to offer. Apart from our Traditio-nal Christmas Menu, our head

chef has also created a delicious Christmas party menu. So whether you’re celebrating with friends, family or work-collea-gues, just get in touch to book your Christmas get-together at

News from The CaptainIt’s Christmas!!!

The Ship, today!”

Brave assertions from the main man himself! But one has to remember that Chris has ‘bags’ of experience in the pub-trade

as a landlord and going by the success that his in-house pro-mos have had during the cour-se of the year, one can unders-tand Chris’s confidence in his and his staff ’s ability to deliver when it matters. As I wrote in November’s edition, he is con-tinuing all his promotions, ‘Ha-ppy Days’ Promos, ‘Football Loopy’ etc, (YES, all lock-stock-n-barrel) up to Christmas. Chris commented, “Yes, I’m pleased to say that most, if not all, of our promotions this year, have had a very good response from the general public and regulars alike, so we are continuing them up to Christmas; then we’ll see what 2015 brings but we’ll defi-nitely have new promotions in store for next year; we’ll keep you abreast of proceedings on this column and through our Facebook page. So come and celebrate Christmas 2014 with us. You’ll love it.” One thing is certain and that is that Captain Chris and his first mate Miche-lle will be only too happy to sail to your every need!

Oh and one further note, ‘El Capitan’ Chris, Michelle and all the staff at the Ship would also like to take this opportunity to wish everyone A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and A PROSPE-ROUS AND HEALTHY 2015.

So there you have it folks, Great Food, Great Beer and Great Atmosphere! For bookings or reservations, please phone the Ship on TEL: (+350) 200 60160


Text by Francesca Cartwright

Photograph by Sheila Cartwright

Christmas is fast approaching and it’s at this time of year where we tend to think most about tho-se less fortunate than us. Many people in the community raise funds for charity and a particular activity has been raising funds for the last sixteen years, which is no mean feat!

The Essential Services undertake a thirty-three Km walk every year. All participants obtain a minimum of £20 sponsorship and all proce-eds are going to the following local charities: Breast Cancer Support Gibraltar, Baby Stepps, Friends of Mount Alvernia, Karen Joa-quin and Prostate Cancer Support Group Gibraltar.

The starting point is Market place at a prompt 7.30am on Saturday 7th February 2015, where partici-pants will walk towards the bor-der, cross the frontier and make their way to El Higueron, via La Atunara. ‘El Higueron Restaurant’ will be the first stop, then under the bridge through the San Roque

Essential Services Charity Walk

old road and head towards Roca-mar for the second refreshment break. Then, it’s back to the Fron-tier where the route takes a left towards Catalan Bay and round the Rock of Gibraltar. After a third and last pit-stop at the lighthouse, the group will walk back to Refe-rendum Gates via Main Street.

This is quite a challenging Ma-rathon Walk, which should take approximately seven hours. Even though the walk will be at a leisu-rely pace, participants are required to undertake a reasonable training plan prior to attempting this walk.

Michael Garcia from Gibtelecom tells me it’s a tough but enjoyable activity that sees an increase in participants, year on year. The fee-ling of achievement when the walk is completed is second to none and the fact that’s it’s done as a co-llective to benefit the community makes it all the more worthwhile.

So include a new pair of trainers on your Christmas list and get wal-king for charity – who knows? You might even lose some of the extra kilos those ‘polvorenes’ have added!


Francoise Atlaninvolves Gibraltar in her future projects

French singer, Francoise Atlan, ce-lebrated the Sephardic culture in poetry, words and song during a lovely music event included in the Gibunco Gibraltar Literary Fes-tival that took place on the 16th November at The Convent with a show called ‘Spirit of Granada’. During this event, she performed traditional Sephardic works in the Jewish-Spanish and Jewish-Moroccan languages of Ladino, Judezmo and Haketia.

Atlan -born into a Sephardic Jewish family in France and one of the best performers of Sephardic romance- explained the influence of Granada in the World Culture and she talked about the history

of the Sephardic tradition and the expulsion of Sephardic Jews from Spain.

Granada was the last bastion of the Sefardic, literally the Jews of Spain, culture in Spain in 1492 and, with this event, Françoise Atlan conve-yed listeners in subtle poetic and musical travel through the three monotheist Andalucia: Jew, Chris-tian and Muslim.

After her participation in the Gi-bunco Gibraltar International Literary Festival, Françoise Atlan chose the Rock for a photo shoot with local photographer, Stephen Ignacio, that she will use for her new project.


Most people think of Santa Claus and the cheery red and white we decorate with at Christmas as litt-le more than lighthearted fun and pretty colours. But the real story behind that Christmas look that takes over the Western world at this time of year is a bit… shall we say, darker; or at least way, way more tripped-out! Read on to find out about the psychedelic and mystical roots of the Santa Claus myth and the traditional Christmas decorating scheme!

When we think of Christmas, we invariably think of Santa Claus, a man in a red suit and pointy hat with white furry trim and tall black boots, and his ac-cessories, a bag of goodies in a sleigh pulled through the sky by a team of eight flying rein-deer. And it’s a clear case of the clothes making the man, for a Santa in any other outfit would most definitely not still be San-ta. Would a fat, bearded, white-haired guy in cargo shorts and a Metallica t-shirt make you think of Christmas? Certainly not!! But when you think about it, it’s a pretty special outfit, no? Santa’s pretty much the only one, who wears anything like it; a baggy suit with fur trim isn’t exactly stylish these days, and it wasn’t when Santa made his first appea-rance, either. His last known pre-cursor, Father Christmas, wore

Santa and the ‘Shrooms: The Real Story Behind the

“Design” of Christmas

a long red robe, sometimes with trim and sometimes without, like a cardinal, reflecting the link drawn between him and the his-toric Saint Nicholas, a Turkish cardinal in the 14th century, who was known for his kindness to children. But the pants? And the hat? And the boots? They’re nowhere to be found on him!

The answer, according to anthro-pological research from recent decades, lies way further back than even Coca-Cola can be found. The roots of Santa’s style, and his bag of goodies, sleigh, reindeer, bizarre midnight flight,

distinctive chimney-based means of entry into the home, and even the way we decorate our houses at Christmas, seem to lead all the way back to the ancestral tradi-tions of a number of indigenous arctic circle dwellers — the Ka-mchadales and the Koryaks of Siberia, specifically. So it’s true — Santa really does come from the North Pole!

Popular legend has it that Santa himself, not to mention his out-fit, was designed by Coca Cola, making his first appearance in their early-20th century ads and defining him for the ages by sheer

force of commercial and adverti-sing might. There’s a grain of truth in this: His generous shape and rosy cheeks came at the whimsy of Haddon Sundblom, the illus-trator of so many of Coke’s well-loved adverts from that period. Before Sundblom’s illustrations, Santa was commonly depicted as more of a gnome-like little man (editorial cartoonist Thomas Nast drew some of the best-known early dedications of him), often skinny and a little scary, but even then, wearing the same clothes he wears now. So the question is, where did that outfit come from? Where did Santa get such a uni-que sense of sartorial élan?

And like so many other fantas-tical tales, it all originated with some really intense ‘shrooms. On the night of the winter solstice, a Koryak shaman would gather se-veral hallucinogenic mushrooms called amanita muscaria, or fly agaric in English, and them to launch himself into a spiritual journey to the tree of life (a large pine), which lived by the North Star and held the answer to all the village’s problems from the previous year.

Fly Agaric is the red mushroom with white spots that we see in fairy tale illustrations, old Dis-ney movies, and (if you’re old enough to remember) Super Ma-rio Brothers video games and all

1. Traditional Santa Claus

2. Haddon SundblomCoca-Cola Santa

GLOBE MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2014 4746 DECEMBER 2014 GLOBE MAGAZINE


John & Yoko In Gibraltar

the Smurfs cartoons. They are seriously toxic, but they become less lethal when dried out. Con-veniently, they grow most com-monly under pine trees (becau-se their spores travel exclusively on pine seeds), so the shaman would often hang them on lower branches of the pine they were growing under to dry out before taking them back to the village. As an alternative, he would put them in a sock and hang them over his fire to dry. Is this starting to sound familiar?

Another way to remove the fatal toxins from the ‘shrooms was to feed them to reindeer, who would only get high from them — and then ‘pee’, with their di-gestive systems having filtered out most of the toxins, making their urine safe for humans to drink and get a safer high that way. Reindeer happen to love Fly Agarics and eat them whenever they can, so a good supply of magic pee was usually ready and waiting all winter. In fact, the re-indeer like Fly Agarics so much that they would eat any snow where a human, who had drank ‘shroom-laced urine had relie-ved himself and thus, the circle would continue.

But how would he get into a yurt (traditional Siberian hut) whose door was blocked by several feet of snow? He’d climb up to the roof with his bag of ‘goodies’, go to the hole in the centre of the roof that acted as a chimney, and slide down the central pole that held the yurt up over the fire-place. Then he’d pass out a few ‘shrooms to each guest and some might even partake of some of the ones that had been hung over the fire. Clearly, this idea of using the chimney to get in and pass out the magic mushrooms (and other goodies) had sticking power. In-

terestingly, even as late as Victo-rian times in England, the tradi-tional symbol of chimney sweeps was a Fly Agaric mushroom — and many early Christmas cards featured chimney sweeps with Fly Agarics, though no explana-tion of why was offered.

Interestingly, in addition to in-ducing hallucinations, the mus-hrooms stimulate the muscular system so strongly that those, who eat them, take on tempo-rarily superhuman strength, in the same way we might be affec-ted by a surge of adrenaline in a ‘life-or-death’ situation. And the effect is the same for animals. So

any reindeer, who’d had a tasty mushroom snack or a little ye-llow snow, would become lite-rally high and mighty, prancing around and often jumping so high they looked like they were flying! And at the same time, the high would make humans feel like they were flying, too, and the reindeer were flying through space. So by now, you can see where this is going: The legend had it that the ‘shaman’ and the reindeer would fly to the north star, which sits directly over the north pole, to retrieve the gifts of knowledge, which they would then distribute to the rest of the village.

It seems that these traditions were carried down into Great Britain by way of the ancient Druids, whose spiritual practices had taken on elements that had originated much farther nor-th. Then, in the inevitable way that different cultures influence one another due to migration and intermarriage, these stories got mixed with certain Germa-nic and Nordic myths involving Wotan (the most powerful Ger-manic god), Odin (his Nordic counterpart) or another great god going on a midnight winter solstice ride, chased by devils, on an eight-legged horse. The exer-tion of the chase would make flecks of red and white blood and foam fall from the horse’s mouth to the ground, where the next year amanita mushrooms would appear. Apparently over time, this European story of a horse with eight legs, united with the ancient Arctic circle story of reindeer prancing and flying around on the same night, mel-ted together into eight prancing, flying reindeer!

That story then crossed the pond to the New World with the early English settlers and got an injec-tion of Dutch traditions involving the Turkish St. Nicholas, who came to be called Sinterklaas by small Dutch children from the Dutch colonialists and found im-mortality in its current form in early 20th-century America, with Clement Clark Moore’s famous poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” Before this poem hit the press, di-fferent immigrant groups around the U.S. each had their own diffe-rent versions of the Santa Claus legend. Then in the 1930s, Coca Cola’s ad campaign gave Santa his sizable girth and sent him back around the world. And so in that spirit, a MERRYY CHRISTMAS to all, who celebrate it!

3. Turkish St Nicholas images - 4. Thomas Nast Santa images - 5. Sibe-rian Shaman at winter solstice - 6. Amanita Muscaria Mushrooms - 7. Vintage Holiday Card with mushrooms - 8. Traditional Siberian Yurt - 9. Chimney Sweep Fly Agaric Cards - 10. Odin with Sleipnir-the 8-legged horse


Our first event in November took place at San Roque on Sunday the 2nd. We held The Ladbrokes Trophy at this world class local venue only a short drive away from Gibraltar. Weather conditions were very nice indeed with only a small breeze to trouble players. Scores were lower than normal for some reason. Med Golfers know we keep tight control of our handicaps and the axe wielding handicap secretary was I tears as he could hardly cut anyone’s handicap at all!

The Trophy winner was Roger Griffiths with 33 points. Roger won the trophy and 2 green fees on the San Roque Club Old Course.

OTHER PRIZES WEREWON AS FOLLOWS:

Best gross score was new member Peter Caetano with a very good 7 over par 79The longest drive was by Stewart Freeman Devlin.Best gross score on the par 3s was also Peter Caetano at level par.Best pairing was Roger and Liz Griffiths with a combined 59 points.

We have only had two events so far this season so the top twenty will be issued later this month once we have had 3 events.

All the photos from San Roque can be found on our Facebook page.

MORE NEWS FROM MED GOLF

Med Golf has its own Facebook page where you can see photos from the competition day. We’d be delighted if you’d join our group for up-to-date news and contribute to on-going golfing discussions. We created the page to enable members and visitors to discuss anything about golf, give feedback on courses they have played, offer tips to others they have come across and much more. You can find us on Facebook simply by searching for ‘Med Golf ’ or visit our website and navigate from there.

For more details on our full schedule and the benefits of joining Med Golf for just £30 per year on our current 241 offer, please visit www.medgolfgroup.com or contact us at [email protected]

Our best senior this time was Roger.

OUR HANDICAP CATEGORY PRIZES WERE WON AS

FOLLOWS:

Category 1 (0-12) Runner up Stewart Freeman Devlin with 31 points; winner David MacGregor with 32 pointsCategory 2 (13-22) Runner up Steve Stonefield with 28 points; winner Chris Hill with 29 pointsCategory 3 (23 and above) Dave Gibbons with 25 points runner up; winner Martyn Carroll with 30 points.The nearest the pin winners were Matt Charlesworth and Imelda Cocco, with Matt also winning

the nearest in 2 prize on a par 4.One ‘worth a mention’ moment was when new boy, Duncan Hamilton, hit his shot through a band stand to the left of the 12th hole as his tee shot was so wild. Med Golf members can see the video of this in the e-news published later this month, or you can see it on our Facebook page.

The Ladbrokes Trophy


Entertaining friends and family in your home during the Christmas season is one of the most popular activities this time of year. Many people choose to host small, informal gatherings in their home, while others plan extravagant dinner parties which are destined to generate more than one urban legend in the community in which they are held.

While many of us do not aspire to such heights as those held by the socialites in our community, we would still like to host an unforgettable Christmas dinner party that will be remembered fondly among our closest friends and family for years to come!

If you are like me, and many are if they would admit it, the thought of all of the work and skill that goes into throwing a successful dinner party leaves you a little weak in the knees and wondering how in the world you are going to pull it all off.

But don’t let the fear of juggling the tasks involved with putting on a dinner party keep you from hosting the event that your family and friends will talk about for a long time into the future. It’s really not difficult if you follow a few simple steps and guidelines for putting on a successful dinner party.

TIPS FOR PLANNINGTHE PERFECT CHRISTMAS

DINNER PARTY

Make your list, check it twice, and invite, invite, invite. The first thing you need to do when planning a dinner party is to create your

depending on what type of atmosphere you want to create.

Remember that buffets are informal and a sit down dinner is more formal. I’m not saying that you are not capable of cooking a large meal for your guests. If you are and want to take on the work load of cooking for multiple guests, then by all means do so. Just keep in mind your limitations and time constraints. Doing so will save you a great deal of headache in the end.

Carefully plan your menu. When planning your individual dishes to serve at your Christmas dinner party, choose dishes that are both delicious and easy to make. Choose recipes that can be made ahead of time or that require just a little heating right before the party to be finished. The last thing you want to be doing during your dinner party is slaving over a hot stove sequestered away from your guests. Another important thing to remember when planning your menu is to never, ever attempt to cook a recipe for the first time. Trust me.

Take inventory. Create a list of all of the supplies that you will need to host your dinner party. Items may include tables, chairs, service pieces, cutlery, plates, candlesticks, decorations, table cloths, etc. Do not forget your food items from your menu as well.

Shop and clean till you drop. About a week before your dinner party, you should take the time to

Hosting a Christmas Dinner Party

guest list. Keep in mind that not all invited will attend. So, if you want to have 50 guests at your party, you will have to invite quite a few more than that. Send out invitations no less than three weeks in advance so that people will have a chance to RSVP.

Plan to cook your own meal or plan for others to plan it for you. If you are no Betty Crocker, admit it to yourself before signing on to make a large homemade meal. Having someone cater your dinner party or ordering takeaways is perfectly acceptable


do your party shopping and give your house a thorough cleaning.

Cook and decorate. Cook and prepare as many foods as you can ahead of time, preferable the day before the party.

Save the day of the party for setting up your tables and adding

the finishing touches to your décor.

See, hosting a memorable Christmas dinner party is not so hard after all. In fact, I’m sure that you can do it. So, get out there and start planning, and if at any time you feel overwhelmed, simply hire a caterer!

Text by Richard Cartwright

Both nights were so successful he could have filled the audito-rium one more night on word of mouth alone. The buzz and after show comments in the streets from those, who had attended the performances were so posi-tive it made those, who missed the shows give themselves, ‘a

Albert Hammondin Concert

It was sometime in the mid 90s when he last performed on the Rock for the general public at a Miss Gi-braltar Show. Last month he was back...and what a comeback it was – standing ovations matched the fingers on your hand!

stern ticking off ’ for not having bought tickets during the pre concert fortnight from the well placed ticket kiosk in the centre of town...no excuses!!

Albert had in fact performed on the Rock on a couple of other occasions: once at a charity function and on another visit, he sang at a private, corporate event.

This time, it was different, very different. Lengthy negotiations were undertaken to get things absolutely right. James Neish’s Stage One production company and Jordan Lopez’ ‘Gib Media’ were in close contact with the Ministries of Culture and Tou-rism to work towards bringing the show to fruition and it came to pass! The stage was set and

this was to be, ‘Albert Hammond in Concert.’

For over two and a half hours, our famous songwriter/singer went right through much of his catalogue of self penned songs, many written by him and part-nered by some of the world’s best popular music songwriters, who, in their own right also,

The Songbook Tour

Photo © Core Photography GLOBE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2014 57

have written thousands of hits. More hits were produced by the-se partnerships and almost all the major ones were performed by Albert on those two memo-rable evenings. Accompanied by his backing musicians com-prising keyboards, guitar, bass, drums and two female backing

remarks and comments to me and others – was a show that caught many by surprise, not only because scores of those at-tendees were not aware several of their favourite songs were, in fact, written by Albert and how incredibly well they were perfor-med, but especially how energe-

singers – all of whom were very talented and provided excellent support for Albert, who was also on guitar - the Queen’s Cinema was filled with high energy pro-duced by the rapport between the star and the audience. All concert performers invariably strive for audience participation

and warm reaction from those attending but not always is this achieved. To say it was achieved on both nights would simply be a massive under statement! As soon as Albert walked on stage, the audience rose and greeted him with great applause. What followed - judging by after show

Photo © Johnnie BugejaPhoto © Johnnie Bugeja

Photo © Core Photography Photo © Core Photography


Photo © Johnnie Bugeja

tic our local lad was on stage not letting up for one moment for over two and a half hours at 70 years of age...!!

And of course, the list of songs he sang was a feast of the best...Too many hits to mention in English and Spanish but here’s a few...When I Need You, The Air That I Breathe, Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now, To all The Girls I’ve Loved Before, Free Electric Band, It Never Rains in Southern Cali-fornia and all the hits he had in the Latin Countries like, Echame a mi la Culpa, Ansiedad, Espi-nita, but hey, that’s just a taster, there were many more in both languages. Albert went through the ‘songbook of his song writing and performing career’ recou-nting anecdotes and stories of how he came to right his famous songs and the incredible son-gwriters and performers he met and worked with along the way. The audience were indeed in awe singing along, clapping, joining in and simply enjoying the over 150 minutes: the atmosphere was exciting and stimulating and the fans had a ball. Also caught by surprise was Albert himself, who, after the show, went to front of house at the Queen’s Cinema to sign scores of autographs and where merchandising in the form of CDs and T-shirts were selling like hot cakes! He later told the Gibraltar Chronicle, “I didn’t expect this. Now, I know you can be ‘a prophet in your own land!’” The result of it all was a very welcomed return for all concerned!

As I write, preparing this article for December publication, Al-bert is due to travel to Germany to support our local national football team... Germany v Gi-braltar! Good luck to the team and to Albert, who will be a spec-

Photo © Johnnie Bugeja GLOBE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2014 59

Photo © Core Photography

Photo © Core Photography

Photo © Johnnie Bugeja

Photo © Core Photography Photo © Core PhotographyPhoto © Core Photography

tator himself this time round watching a very tough match for our boys...by comparison, and although a football fan him-self, he may be gritting his teeth preferring the relative comfort – hard work though it is - of jum-ping back on stage at the Queen’s Cinema where he performed so successfully just days earlier...! A performance I’m sure, never to be forgotten by so many con-tented fans and others, who may not be so content for missing out on an incredible experience. Perhaps, there may be other op-portunities in the not too distant future to witness `Albert Ham-mond in Concert,’ once again...



ISOLAS has today announced that Marcus Killick OBE has joi-ned the firm as Chief Executive Officer.

Mr Killick, CEO of the Financial Services Commission in Gibral-tar for nearly eleven years, stood down earlier this year and joins ISOLAS to take on an active ma-nagement role, in addition to which he will assisting practitio-ners in ISOLAS’ financial servi-ces teams, an area in which Mr Killick can bring over 20 years’ worth of experience and exper-tise to bear.

Mr Killick also currently serves as Chairman of GSX, the Gibral-tar Stock Exchange, as a Director of the Gibraltar International Bank and is also a Director of Callaghan Insurance Brokers Ltd.

He is an English Barrister and member of the New York State

Bar as well as a Chartered Fe-llow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments and a member of the Chartered Management Institute (Diploma in Management and Leadership) and the Chartered Insurance Institute, Marcus was awarded the OBE in the 2014 New Year’s Honours List

Marcus was also Chairman of the Gibraltar Investors Compen-sation Scheme and the Gibraltar Deposit Guarantee Board as well as the Group of International In-surance Centre Supervisors.

Peter Isola, Senior Partner at ISOLAS, explained how he was “delighted to have been able to se-cure Marcus’ services for the firm. His knowledge and experience will be a boon to ISOLAS in many ways. I’m very pleased that he has chosen to join us and I’m excited about the developments his ap-pointment may bring.”

Isolas announcesthe appointment

of its first ChiefExecutive Officer


13th GibraltarInternational Dance

Festival 2015

Now in its 13th year, M.O. Pro-ductions is inviting entries for participation at the annual Gi-braltar International Dance Fes-tival. The Festival shall take pla-ce at the John Mackintosh Hall Theatre between 12th and 14th March 2015.

The event is affiliated to the Bri-tish Federation of Festivals and the Gibraltar National Dance Organisation. It is an event open for individuals, groups and aca-demies with the opportunity of performing in various dance ca-tegories and styles. The compe-tition is open to everyone, with interest already received by the organisers from various interna-tional countries.

Commenting on the announce-ment, M.O. Productions Direc-tor Seamus Byrne said: “We are pleased to announce the annual Gibraltar International Dance Festival is taking place in March 2015. The festival provides for local standards to increase and at the same time to raise our in-

ternational profile. We hope that local dancers will make the most of an event which will act as a platform for future dance events both in Gibraltar and abroad.”

PRIZES INCLUDE

M.O. Productions Bursary Award: £500 and Trophy

Best Female Dancer of the Fes-tival: £150 and Trophy

Best Male Dancer of the Festi-val: £150 and Trophy

M.O. Productions Sussex Award: Flight and accommoda-tion to participate at the 2016 Sussex Festival of Song and

Dance, in BrightonBest Choreographer: Trophy

Entry forms and conditions are available from:

• Local dance schools• Email: [email protected] • On Pointe Dance School at Casemates Square

Closing date for entries is Fri-day 16th January 2015.


The Best Recipesof our Cuisine

Lamb withChristmas Spices

SERVES: 6

PREPARATION: 20 MINUTES

COOKING: 1 HOUR

INGREDIENTS:

2 large onions, fnely chopped

4 garlic cloves, sliced

5cm fresh root Ginger, shredded

2 tbsp olive oil

1 ½ kg lean lamb neck fillets, cu tinto chunks

2 cinnamon sticks

8 cloves

How to make it1. Fry the onions, garlic and ginger in the oil for about 15 mins. Add the

lamb and stir-fry until browned. Add the spices, cook over the heat to release their flavours, then add the almonds. Pour in the stock and season to taste. 2. Cover the pan and simmer for 45 mins, stirring occasionally. Add the apricots, then simmer 15 mins more until the lamb is tender. Thin with a little water if the sauce starts to get too thick. 3. To freeze, cool, then pack into a freezer container or

Good pinch saffron

2 bay leaves

2 tsp ground coriander

3 tbsp ground almonds

850ml beef stock

250g pack Reddy-to-eat dried apricots

bags. Will keep for up to 3 months. Thaw for 6 hrs in the fridge, then reheat in a pan until bubbling hot.

Braised beef with prunesReplace lamb with diced stewing steak and apricots with pitted pru-nes and some whole shallots. Omit saffron and cinnamon and add 2 tbsp red wine vinegar. Expect to simmer for about 30 minutes more until the meat is tender.

Keep this in the freezer for dinnerparties and serve it with rice and salad or crunchy potatoes and vegetables


What’s Happening Down Town?

1. Manolo Going about his chores at The Tunnel 2. The girls at GBC’s ‘The Powder Room’. 3. The Chief Minister Presents The Gibraltar Football Shirt at The Gibraltar American Council in New York. 4. The Parody family enjoying breakfast at The Square Cafe . 5. The Gibraltar Delegation at the United Nations. 6. Minister Dr John Cortes pays a visit to Elie Massias’ Jazz Workshops. 7. Congratulations to Daniel Guerrero and Bonnie Rodriguez who tied The Knot on 12TH September 2014. 1

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IDO European Champions!The Gibraltar National Dance Team rocked Germany by being crowned European Champions at the recent IDO European Show Dance Championships. The event was staged in Rie-sa, with 1,200 dancers from 20 nations taking part. The event was organised for the renow-ned world governing body the International Dance Organi-sation (IDO) by the Germany Dance Federation (TAF), FSVG Riesa and a good friend of Gi-braltar, IDO President Michael Wednt.

The Gibraltar National Dance Team performed in the Adult Solo Female Section. 23 young ladies took part and Gibral-

Championships to be held in Gibraltar in October 2015. Many countries have already shown an interest in participa-ting, with the likes of Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Spain, Hungary and Slovakia, all con-firming their participation at our event.

GNDO President Seamus Byr-ne said: “I take this opportu-nity to thank all the sponsors and most importantly, Her Majesty’s Government of Gi-braltar and the Cultural Grants Committee for making our participation a reality.

IDO competitions are where ‘la crème de la crème’ at an ama-

tar was represented by Loui-se Gonzalez. Her piece based on the film ‘Maleficent’ was choreographed by Jolene Go-mez. Louise performed in the quarter finals and finished in 14th position. 1st place was awarded to an excellent dan-cer from Norway, 2nd place to Croatia and 3rd place to Hun-gary.

The best result was winning Gold Medal and crowned Eu-ropean Champions in the Children Solo Female divi-sion. Gibraltar was represen-ted by Caitlin Rodriguez with a piece entitled ‘Can a Robot have Feelings?’ choreographed by her father, Gerald Rodri-

guez. Caitlin performed in va-rious rounds before qualifying amongst the top 6 dancers into the grand final and crowned as IDO European Dance Cham-pion in 1st place. The final was contested by dancers from Gi-braltar, Russia, Serbia and Slo-vakia. The 2nd and 3rd places were awarded to excellent dan-cers from Russia.

Gibraltar was also represented in the panel of judges by IDO Official International Judge, Seamus Byrne who adjudica-ted 15 out of the 19 categories at the competition. Gibraltar’s contingent also saw Christian Santos doing an excellent job in marketing the IDO European

On the Podium with all finalists


teur dance level compete and where international dancers get together at the best World and European dance events. And in Riesa, our dancers faced tough opposition, with many coun-tries providing a very high level of technique and incredible high standards of Show Dance. Ne-vertheless, Gibraltar, once again, proved that we can take part in international dance events orga-nised by the IDO, at the highest level, culminating with the Gold medal.

The GNDO congratulates Cait-

lin Rodriguez for been the first Gibraltarian dancer in the GNDO’s 33 year history, to have been crowned IDO Euro-pean Champion. The Team have been great ambassadors for the Rock, especially in their promo-tion of Gibraltar for our 2015 IDO European Championships being held in our homeland. The GNDO is delighted with the results and remarkable perfor-mances from the Gibraltar con-tingent.”

For the full results, please visit: www.ido-dance.com

European Champion Cailtin Rodriguez

Louise Gonzalez - Quarter Finals


There might be no more palate pleasing food and drink combination than Spanish wine and Iberian ham. The robust wines of Spain and the marbled savory goodness of cured meat are a heavenly duo!

So when you combine these with cured cheese, the ‘combo’ comes alive. Wine, Iberian Ham and cheese go hand in hand, and for good reason too! When experimenting with various wine, cheese and ham combinations through a planned tasting, one can start to detect the palate influence of a precise cheese or ham on a particular wine. The pairing of different varietals of wine with cured meat and cheese is a culinary art-form in itself.

Such an occasion occurred on 6th November last when ‘Hacienda Zorita’ presented two of their top wines, namely their Crianza red wine and their Vega-Reina Verdejo white wine, cured cheese (pressed Reserva Ewe’s raw milk cheese) and their top grade acorn-fed Iberian ham (Jamon Iberico de Bellota),

respectively, at a wine, ham and cheese tasting organised by their local agents and distributors, Saccone & Speed (Gibraltar)

Ltd at the Calpe Rowing Club.

The event was well attended by over eighty wine enthusiasts from a cross section of our community. The wines where presented by a senior representative from ‘Hacienda Zorita’, Sñr Carlos Ansotegui Ruiz Esquirde, who went through the different stages of the wine and cheese making processes in detail; explaining why these products are particularly great and what their place is in Spanish culinary culture. Saccone & Speed’s very own Alex Martin did the honours of cutting the leg of ham for the eager guests

After the presentation, the guests were able to compare their views of the wines and cheese with the experts and amongst themselves whilst savouring the well prepared canapés served. All catering, presentation and preparations were done by the Saccone and Speed commercial department organization event team. It turned out to be a truly enjoyable and interesting event.

Wine, Ham and Cheese tasting at the Calpe Rowing Club organised by Saccone and Speed (Gibraltar) Ltd and courtesy of Hacienda Zorita


Young EnterpriseAesthetic Creations

Text by Francesca Cartwright

Photographs by Sheila Cartwright

Adolescents typically get a bad rap, most of the media coverage tends to be negative rather than positive. We are used to hea-ring about their poor decision-making, their bad attitudes and even committing violent crimes!

Teenage years can be a confusing time, fraught with highs, lows, expectations, disappointments, mood swings and rebellion – this is the teenage stereotype but certainly not all of them display these behaviours. I’ve had the privilege of meeting a few of

item is a unique design promi-ses to have that little sprinkle of ‘fairy dust’, that something special setting them apart from the rest. They will be presenting their plans on the 11th Decem-ber, which sees the launch of the competition.

All team members have a de-signated job title and detailed objectives. Weekly meetings are held in order to assess what stage they are at and what actions need to be taken forward in order to meet their objectives on time. They have already obtained an initial sponsorship from Saccone & Speed (Gibraltar) Ltd and are

them, who are talented, hopeful, positive and already planning for their future.

Meet the team of ‘Aesthetic Crea-tions’; a group of 13 young lads and ladies, who have formed a company for the ‘Young Enter-

prise’ competition. The scheme aims to develop entrepreneurs and equip young people with transferrable skills and knowled-ge. They aim to develop a brand, which products include brace-lets, necklaces, bags and clothing - pretty mainstream, but each


grateful for the help and advice given by their business mentor Susan Beresford.

The plan is to hold a fund rai-sing quiz night at ‘My Wines’ in Chatham Counterguard. All proceeds raised will be used to purchase the materials required and start the manufacturing of the bracelets – their spearhead product. I asked what type of bracelets they were producing, (in the hope that I would mana-ge to bag myself a ‘freebie’) but these teenagers have their bu-siness heads firmly screwed on and no offers were forthcoming, instead, I was explained that the bracelets would consist of a mix-ture of leather and woven rope. A unisex design, which I would be able to purchase, once they were available!

They will be selling their pro-ducts online, through their Fa-cebook page and also plan to sell them via local retailers on the Main Street, so watch this space.

Their sights are set on big adver-tising but being full-time stu-dents on a limited budget, they hope to make the most of social media, which they believe is the most efficient and cost effecti-ve way of getting their message across to their young, and not so young, market.

Their main aim is to produce a high quality finish at affordable prices and they can’t wait for the satisfaction to see their products being worn by the general pu-blic. The fact that they have to juggle their studies with all that setting up and running a com-pany entails, from the opening of a Bank account, appointing Directors, Secretary etc. proves that they are serious about this project. Apart from the busi-ness acumen and experience this competition gives them, they are definitely in it for the long haul. They hope that their success will last long after the competition has ended and with high hopes and determination like this, the sky’s the limit.

So my faith is restored, that the stereotype teenager is exactly that…a stereotype. The majority function well, enjoy good rela-tionships with family and friends and have a smooth(ish) transi-tion to adulthood. Some of them might even become multinatio-nal entrepreneurs selling a very cool brand line of clothing and accessories, which I for one will definitely be wearing.


Text by Joe Adambery

Photographs by Leo Hayes

Dead City Radio are James Culatto on vocals and guitar, Robin Batchelor on lead Gui-tar, Richard Camilleri on bass and Michael Gomez on drums. They make their music in a vault underneath the ‘Rock on the Rock Club.’ Their songs, as presented to me, are ‘Sacri-fice,’ ‘Give her a name,’ ‘Elec-tric Brujo’, ‘Waiting’, ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ and ‘Keep ‘em

some that didn’t so much, but we all have such diverse in-fluences that we are happy to play our ideas till they become songs, then later perhaps, we decide that it doesn’t fit in with the rest of our other stuff so we chuck it out and continue. La-ter, we find that it suits another idea, so we work on that. Now in these six songs, there are very few ideas that we haven’t been able to stick with. Michael: My influences are

Tuning into‘Dead City Radio’

Take four guys, all of them serious musicians, who are intent on making their mark on our local Rock sce-ne. There is no particular order but roughly, first take inspiration from a million sources, then thrash out six new songs, whittled down from twenty, through hard rehearsals and clinical self- appraisal, eventua-lly after a year’s hard slog when the music is as right as you can get it present it to the press. Follow that up with a video and a live gig - tune in to ‘Dead City Radio,’ a powerful new band that I was privileged to meet exclusively after I saw their video of ‘Keep ‘em coming’ on FaceBook

Coming.’ My first impressions were written up recently in a review in the Chronicle also published here, but let’s now chat to the Dead City Radio.

Richard: You’ve heard many influences there even Disco and Funk where I come from but it’s really a joint effort.

James: We are quite democra-tic and accommodating. We don’t dismiss any idea even if it’s Disco!

How do you start putting stuff together with such a wide pool of influences?

Richard: Maybe we develop an idea from a three second long riff that someone’s got. Two weeks earlier maybe so-meone had another riff and later on something else fits so we develop it further.

Robin: We used to have more songs, around twenty, with things that worked well and


rock and hard rock so from that we have been able to make other things, for instance, Ri-chard is quite heavy on bass, but we have been able to make each other happy. (Richard smiles)

Richard: My Influences are from the seventies, like Led Zep, Pink Floyd and Black Sa-bbath but at the same time, I like grunge and other newer styles.

I jump in to say that we don’t like the word grunge- they all laugh in agreement I think.

Robin: Other than grunge, which we all universally hate,

there’s metal and funk, which we all like so we are able to in-corporate many ideas into our songs. Even though our songs are quite heavy, there are also some that you can groove and dance to. They hate me men-tioning Red Hot Chilli Peppers but their early stuff is quite good!

James: Our song ‘Give her a Name’ is a perfect example of all those ideas coming to-gether in a song. We had an intro, a bridge, a riff here and there and we worked them all into the song.

Is this new material so-mething that you want to play

to people or just to record it and move on?

James: I am of the opinion that when you have finished songs you should record them and put them on the shelf. Later, if you want to go back to them, you can. I have mis-sed out in the past with other projects because we have had songs ready and never recor-ded them.

Robin: We do definitely like to play to people and in the past, we have scrapped good stuff that is only appealing to us musicians. We want to try to have people enjoy our mu-sic.

Do you guys have any aspira-tions to play at the GMF next year for example?

Richard: If we were invited we would definitely do it.

James: This is why we are doing this now in good time so that our songs are out the-re and we can build up speed and momentum so when GMF comes around in ten month’s time, we can be asked to be one of the local bands to take part.

My first impressions were that those six songs were well wor-ked on and of a high standard and assaulted me in the confi-

James Michael


nes of their den, but I was sui-tably impressed and glad that here was a bunch of serious guys, who have worked for a whole year on a dozen songs and honed them down to six, all original music and very well played, which deserves to be heard.

Not for the faint hearted, powerhouse ‘riffy’ songs, gui-tar and vocal led with a diverse sprinkling of melodic influen-ces, Dead City Radio is never-theless strongly recommended as a ‘not to miss’ premier gig by a new band determined to leave their mark on our ‘Alt Rock’ scene. When hearing them live, you will enjoy being

assaulted by spectacular gui-tar riffs in the hands of Robin Batchelor (lead), Richard Ca-milleri (bass), Michael Gomez (drums) and James Culatto (guitar and vocals).

Don’t get me wrong ‘assault’ is a good term to describe this bunch of ‘stoner’ rock songs. Labels don’t mean anything in music unless they help you avoid what you don’t like. You will easily recognise that this is ‘well done rock’ that defies la-bels and within the well -arti-culated music and vocals lies a strong message that next year’s GMF should give these guys an airing. Lesser gods have had such exposure already. You

read it here first.

I found that at close quarters, their material stands well up to scrutiny. It’s very well put to-gether and played under con-trol. It’s a wall of sound yes-but everything is distinctive and can be heard. James, as voca-list, is trying to sing better, not shout, and he’s working hard at his diction. His vocals are clea-ner and easier on the ear and this band leaves him the space to shine when they aren’t shi-ning themselves. Robin and Richard are of the opinion that they should give their future CDs out for free and perhaps, market T- shirts and merchan-dise to get the band’s name

across. I would proudly wear a Dead City Radio T-shirt in the right quarters but maybe not at a funeral!

Some of you may have already heard ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ on radio when Dead City Ra-dio featured in Ben Lynch’s ‘Made In Gibraltar’ and some may have seen them ‘live’ in their recent ‘Rock on the Rock’ debut gig. FaceBook has their excellent video clip, but if you want to stay ahead of the game, you will need to check these guys out soon be-cause they are good and show great promise. Maybe they will play again soon- so go and enjoy.

Richard Robin

82 NOVEMBER 2014 GLOBE MAGAZINE GLOBE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2014 83


The Gibraltar Christmas Stamps for 2014 have been designed at St Bernadette’s Resou-rce Centre. The stamps are extracted from artwork that has been entirely produced by adults with learning disabilities. This pro-ject began in January 2014 and, by using the concept of a collage, all users of the Centre have been able to participate. Artists were encouraged to express their understanding of Gibraltar and Christmas and how both are important to them.

The inspiration for the stamp is the ‘Inter-national Day of People with Disabilities’ in December, which aims to increase public

St Bernadette’s Resource Centre design 2014 Christmas Stamps

awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disabilities and to celebrate their achievements and contributions. This pro-ject is the culmination of many hours of hard work by the artists and is a collaboration bet-ween the Care Agency’s St Bernadette’s Re-source Centre, the ‘Arts and Crafts Society’ and the Philatelic Bureau.

At the outset, it was thought best that all service users work on a single piece, as op-posed to separately producing individual stamps, as this would be innovative, fairer


and more beneficial to all the service users at St Bernadette’s and, by working as team, they might learn new, artistic and creative skills. The exciting project commenced just after last Christmas and the artists have been involved in every single aspect of the work,

including priming and painting the canvas. The final product is truly a unique example of their hard work, team work and freedom of expression. The stamps themselves are extracts from the final piece and have been produced by Stephen Perera.

The work has been undertaken in con-junction with the ‘Gibraltar Arts and Crafts Society’, whose members volunteer at the Centre one day a week. It was led by Philip Heath, Michelle Stagnetto and Merche Vas-quez , who along with care staff, have been


instrumental in inspiring service users to be creative in using their skills and abilities and encouraged them to use their imagina-tion and express themselves through colour, different art techniques and media, textures and materials. They held small groups and one to one sessions with various service users, who needed a little bit more support and reassurance so as to ensure that everyo-ne, who wanted to participate, did so to their full potential. Throughout the project, the ambience at the Centre has been cheerful, warm and festive.

The artists hope that the stamps will be enjo-yed by everyone, who collects stamps around the world and by anyone receiving mail from Gibraltar during Christmas.

The complete collection of Christmas stamps is now on sale from the Gibraltar Philatelic Bureau Shop outside the Main Street Post Office and online on www.gibraltar-stamps.com . This year, exceptionally, the Philatelic Bureau has also produced Christmas cards illustrating the same image as the stamps and can also be purchased from the Gibraltar Philatelic Bureau Shop.

An exhibition of the original artwork, ar-tists’ profiles and photographs depicting the creation of the piece at various stages was on display at the airport terminal during the last

week of October until 7th November.Samantha Sacramento, Minister for Equality, Social Services and the Elderly noted, “These stamps are original and absolutely beautiful and it gives me great pleasure and immense pride to be able to showcase so prominently people’s abilities instead of focusing on their disabilities and this is a perfect example of what can be achieved. Having been so closely involved in this project myself, I know how im-portant and fun the whole process has been for everyone involved. I am very grateful to the management and staff at St Bernadette’s, the volunteers from the Arts and Craft Society and the Philatelic Bureau for working together to enable this to become a reality but more im-portantly, I wish to thank every single artist, who has given Gibraltar such a unique stamp this Christmas.”


It’s that time of year when you are most likely to be hosting a party with friends or family. Make that gathering a little more festive and special by extending the Holiday spirit to the drinks and refreshments you offer your guests

Christmas Cocktails

No holiday party is complete without a selection of drinks. Of course, you probably have some wine, beer, spirits and mi-xers. But why not jazz things up with some seasonal cocktails? Holiday drinks can be fun and festive, and your guests are sure to enjoy indulging in a themed cocktail or two. Just make sure to watch each guest to ensure no one tries to drive home if they enjoyed one too many! Holiday themed drinks that range from classics like ‘egg-nog’ to Christ-mas inspired martinis, to fun and tasty drinks like Christmas Rum Punch.

The holiday season also offers inspiration for decorating glas-ses, ‘rimmed’ with granulated sugar and using unique gar-nishes. Tiny sweets can make a wonderful and colourful stir stick or garnish. Cranberries add a festive colour and can decorate glasses or the drinks themselves. Crushed sweets make a unique and festive ‘rim-mer’ for any sweet martini. To garnish, thread whole cranbe-rries onto a cocktail pick; dip in water and roll in decorator’s su-gar to coat evenly. Perch the pick in the glass, and top the cocktail with shaved dark chocolate.

CHRISTMAS COCKTAILS

The cocktail hour tends to get an unlimited extension over the Christmas period, so we’ve chosen an assortment of classy

cocktails that should see you through happy hour and be-yond.

Basic Equipment

Of course, you can probably get by without this basic bar equipment, but if you want to create the right atmosphere and give your guests that little bit of showmanship when you’re mi-xing your drinks, then invest in a few of the following basics:

A measure (or jigger as it’s known by professional barten-ders) is the most essential pie-ce of equipment. The best one to get is a dual-measure which measures both 25ml and 50ml (single and double measures).

A shaker is a must if you want to feign professionalism with the all-important wrist action, and there really isn’t anything else in the kitchen that will do a suita-

ble job, unless you’re willing to mess about with a jam jar and a colander. There are lots of di-fferent styles, but don’t spend a fortune. Just a stainless steel one with an in-built strainer and twist-off lid is fine.

A bartender’s friend (also known as a waiter’s friend) is a handy gadget that removes corks and bottle caps, cuts the foil from wine bottle tops and generally helps you look the part.

A pestle and mortar which you might have in your kitchen al-ready, is handy for crushing herbs, fresh fruit, lemons and limes, and so on.

Citrus squeezer - just one of the old-style glass ones is fine.

The Five Basic Techniques

The most important rule when mixing the cocktails is to fo-

llow the measurements exactly, using half or full measures (25ml/50ml). This will ensure you get the balance of flavours right and the drink won’t tas-te too strongly of alcohol or have an overpowering taste of any one particular ingredient. There are a few other handy te-chniques that can help when it comes to putting all the ingre-dients together too.

1. Building is the simplest pro-cess whereby the cocktail ingre-dients are simply added to the glass with ice and given a quick stir before serving.

2. Blending: some cocktails are blended in a blender with a little crushed ice before being poured into the glass.

3. Shaking is the method most people associate with cocktail making. The ingredients are added to the shaker with some ice. Hold onto the lid, shake vi-gorously for about ten seconds then pour the cocktail through the strainer into the appropriate glass.

4. Stirring: certain cocktails, such as Martinis and Man-hattans, just need to be stirred carefully (usually over ice) to combine the ingredients before serving.

5. Layering: finally, you might use a bit of fancy layering, pou-ring ingredients over the back of


a spoon, which allows them to remain separate in the glass and be tasted individually.

Store cupboard

Over the Christmas period it’s worth stocking up on some ba-sic bottles and ingredients so you’re not caught short when friends or family pop in.

• Glasses - anything goes these days, but it’s nice to have a few of the following to give your cocktails the edge. The classic Martini glass with slim stem and sloping sides; the highball or other tall, slim glass; shot glasses; champagne flutes. Also handy is a large glass punch-bowl and wine, sherry and port glasses. Hot toddy glasses with

a stainless steel base and hand-le are good for Irish coffees and other hot drinks.

• Fresh fruit - always have a few lemons, limes and oranges in the bottom of the fridge - zest, wedges or slices all make good garnishes for cocktails.

• Ice - keep your ice-cube trays

topped up or buy bags of ice from the supermarket or you lo-cal off-licence.

Recipes

Once you’ve got the basics in place, get shaking! Here are some festive cocktail recipes that are certain to bring plenty of festive cheer.

CHRISTMAS RUM PUNCH

Ingredients: 1 measure fresh lime juice - 2 measures grenadine - 3 measures dark rum- 4 measures soda water - dash of angostura bitters - freshly grated nutmeg - ice

Method: 1. Fill the glass with ice and add a dash of the bitters. 2. Fill with the rest of the in-gredients and then grate a little nutmeg on top.

EGG NOG

Ingredients: 1,140ml/2pt whole milk - 6 eggs - 50g caster sugar - 1 vanilla pod, split - 20 fresh cherries, destoned and halved - 200ml brandy - cocoa powder for dusting

Method: 1. Place the milk,

eggs, sugar and vanilla pod in a medium pan and heat gently, without boiling, until the mix-ture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. 2. The egg nog can be chilled at this stage or served hot. 3. To serve, scat-ter the cherries in the bottom of each serving glass. Divide the brandy between the glasses and pour the egg nog over. Dust with cocoa powder and serve.

CRANBERRY ANDPEAR SPARKLE

Ingredients: 6 tbsp pear concen-trate - 1 litre sparkling water - 1 litre cranberry juice - 1 medium pear, cut into 1cm pieces - sprigs of fresh mint

Method: 1. Mix the pear con-centrate with the sparkling wa-ter. 2. Add the cranberry juice and chill well. 3. Just before ser-ving, add the chopped pear, and garnish with fresh mint leaves.

CLASSIC CHAMPAGNECOCKTAIL

Ingredients: Lemon juice - Sugar syrup - Champagne - Gin

Method: 1. Put lemon juice into Boston shaker. 2. Add sugar syrup- 3. Top with champagne and gin. 4. Serve in champagne flute.

RASPBERRY MARTINI

Ingredients: vodka - chambord - sugar syrup - approx 30 raspbe-rries, to garnish

Method: 1. Muddle ten fresh raspberries in a glass. Add half a measure of the sugar syrup. 2. Pour this mixture into the coc-ktail shaker and then add to it a double measure of vodka and a half measure of ‘chambord’.

3. Shake this mixture together in the shaker over crushed ice, then pour into a glass. 4. Gar-nish with two raspberries on a cocktail stick.

ROXY’S BLOODY MARY

Ingredients: 100g ice - 175ml vo-dka - pinch celery seeds - splash chilli-infused sherry (dry she-rry can be used instead) - good dash of Worcestershire sauce - 1 tsp creamed horseradish - 1 litre tomato juice - emons wedges, to serve - Tabasco, to serve celery sticks, to serve.

Method: 1. Place all of the in-gredients in a large jug and stir well. 2. Run the lemon wedges around the top of your glasses. 3. Pour in the Bloody Mary mix-ture. Serve with the Tabasco and celery sticks.


The Gibunco GibraltarInternational Literary

Festival 2014Photographs By Johnnie Bugeja

(Courtesy Of The Gibraltar Chronicle)

The second Gibunco Gibraltar International Literary Festi-val took place between Friday, November 14th and Sunday November 16th and followed the outstanding success of the inaugural festival in 2013. More than 80 world-class wri-ters, performers and public fi-gures once again gathered on the Rock for the three-day fes-tival organized by the Gibral-tar Government.

Gibraltar’s unique location, fa-cing two continents and lying between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, has, over thousands of years, produced an extraordinary fusion of cultures. This is once more reflected in Sally Dunsmore’s inspired program-me of speakers drawn from around the globe with our an-cient walled city hosting fes-tival events in buildings with real heritage and deep histori-cal roots; the main focus being on the beautiful Garrison Li-brary, much coveted by the lo-cal community.

The Festival featured bestse-lling authors such as Kate Mos-se, leading historians including Lord Hennessy, and major pu-

blic figures led by Lord Ca-rey. Well-known children’s authors, including Sally Gard-ner and Lauren St John, also appeared and a special bes-poke schools’ festival was de-vised with the Department of Education specifically for lo-cal students. The majority of the Festival speakers talked to

classes in the schools. This is a unique innovative venture, ne-ver undertaken on such a scale by any UK Literary Festival.

Major talks, debates and tas-tings relating to Gibraltar’s close neighbours, Spain and Morocco, also featured to-gether with an assembly of a

scintillating blend of music and orchestral performances, jazz, songs from West End shows and the songs of Grana-da. Gibraltar writers and resi-dents were also featured in the programme of this year’s Lite-rary Festival.

The 2014 Literary Festicval saw Man Booker Prize winner, Ben Okri, launch his new no-vel The Age of Magic accom-panied by the Orchestra of St John’s. As well as talking in-depth about his first new work in seven years, he also selected pieces of music, which were la-ter performed by the popular Bookshop Band for a session on storytelling in word and in song.

Bestselling author, Kate Mosse introduced her new novel, The Taxidermist’s Daughter, which is set in a rural Sussex village in 1912 where a grisly murder has taken place. Mosse’s novels include the acclaimed interna-tional bestsellers, The Winter Ghosts, Citadel and Labyrinth. Her works have sold more than five million copies inter-nationally in 42 languages.

Other leading authors and high-profile guests included philosopher, AC Grayling, who gave the Kusuma Trust Lecture

Ben Okri


where he examined the nature of friendship and the signifi-cance it plays in our lives. Bro-adcaster and entertainer, Ni-cholas Parsons recounted the most hilarious moments from his six decades and 900 episo-des as presenter of Radio 4’s hugely popular Just a Minute.

Joanne Harris, celebrated author of thirteen novels in-cluding Chocolat, presented a session on storytelling in word and song. Harris has a lifelong passion for Norse myths and told stories with Icelandic, Scandinavian, French and Cel-tic origins. She was also joined by Ben Okri, who drew on the myths and beliefs of his Afri-can heritage. Musical accom-paniment was provided by The Bookshop Band. Other mu-sical events included leading Jazz Poet Jeremy Robson, who introduced his new collection of poetry with readings by the celebrated actress, Maureen Lipman (The Pianist, Corona-tion Street), as well as, a per-formance from well known jazz singer, Jacqui Dankworth, who has worked with Palo-ma Faith and Gregory Porter. British-Nigerian singer, Pat-ti Boulaye, also performed a special festival concert in the spectacular surroundings of Gibraltar’s St Michael’s Cave.

Food featured heavily in this year’s festival programme with a series of special talks and events. World authority on Indian food, Madhur Jaffrey, prepared a lunch at the Royal Gibraltar Yacht Club. Food writer, Claudia Roden, hosted a literary lunch with a menu influenced by recipes from her many successful cookery books. Roden was born and brought up in Cairo and her

bestselling A Book of Middle Eastern Food revolutionised attitudes to Middle Eastern cuisine when it was published in 1968.

A section of the programme also explored politics and his-tory. Former cabinet minister, Jonathan Aitken, discussed the life of Margaret Thatcher. Ex- editor of the Observer and China expert, Jonathan Fenby, argued that it is not inevitable that China will go on to domi-nate the 21st century. Former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord George Carey, discussed some of the major moral di-lemmas of the 21st century.

Children’s authors at this year’s festival included Katherine Rundell, winner of the Wa-terstones children’s book pri-ze 2014. She talked about her award winning book, Rooftop-pers, which was partly inspired by her own night-time trespas-sing on the roofs of Oxford’s historic colleges. Carnegie Medal winner, Sally Gard-ner, presented her new book The Matchbox Mysteries, the fourth in the Wings & Co se-ries, which has been hailed as ‘Agatha Christie for kids’.

This year’s programme also examined the interesting he-ritage of Gibraltar and the wider Mediterranean that co-mes from its location between Europe and Africa. Singer, Françoise Atlan, investigated the history of Jewish music from the Mediterranean fo-cusing on Gibraltar’s ancient Sephardic Jewish community and also performed a number of tracks. Travel writer, Bar-naby Rogerson, explored the mystique surrounding Marra-kesh through writing. A panel

John Bassadone Gibunco CEO and Minister Neil Costa


of speakers including Alex Fu-rest from the National Catalan Assembly debated the highly topical issue of Catalan inde-pendence.

The development and growth

of the literary festival has only been possible because of the renewed and outstanding ge-nerosity of the Gibunco Group as title sponsor together with the enlightened support of 40 Gibraltar and UK companies

and institutions.

Sally Dunsmore, Festival Direc-tor, said: “This year’s program-me had more than 50 different international speakers coming to Gibraltar - from best-selling

authors, to celebrated chefs, broadcasters and world famous musicians. Gibraltar has a uni-que cultural heritage and we hope the Festival will continue to confirm Gibraltar’s reputa-tion on the global literary map.”


EY Launches New Literaryinitiative for Gibraltar children

EY has launched a new initia-tive this year as part of their support for the Gibraltar In-ternational Literary Festival, which took place on 14 to 17 November. All pre-school children have been given a book written by author, and Gibraltar resident, Anna Bo-gie.

The objective for this literary initiative is to support parents and schools in introducing children to the wonder of lite-rature, whether by reading to them or having children try their first book. The book se-lected for this initiative, Happy Hooves, Ta Dah!, is a beau-tifully illustrated children’s hardback about five hoofed friends who use the power of teamwork and friendship to overcome challenges.

Dr Joey Britto, Director of Education said: ‘We want to take this opportunity to thank EY for this generous gift, and

indeed all those concerned for giving up of their time. Any worthwhile initiatives that ari-se to foster a love of reading and an interest in literature will always be extremely welcome".

JJ Pisharello, Managing Part-

ner at EY, said: ‘The Gibraltar International Literary Festival has fast become an important date in our calendar of annual events and we are delighted to be able to support it with this new scheme. EY believes stron-gly in the great value of reading

in promoting literacy amongst our children. Books have signi-ficant power to encourage crea-tive thinking and to stimulate young minds. This can support the process of learning already going on in schools and in ho-mes. We are proud to be laun-ching this new initiative and hope that it helps produce the great thinkers of tomorrow”.

This is the first book by Gi-braltar based author Anna Bogie. Anna moved to Gi-braltar in 2006 and is happily married, living here with two young children aged 1 and 3. Her book was inspired by the countryside of La Peña, Tarifa where she sometimes spends her weekends.

The book was published in September and the initial in-ternational response has been outstanding. Ta Dah! is now on sale in Waterstones and Foyles as well as being very positively received by the UK Media.


The Beatles - Tune InText by Joe Adambery

Music is best listened to and not written about, so The Beatles’ years in words was always going to be a challenged concept gi-ven that the prophetic legendary band from Liverpool changed the musical landscape of the sixties on a worldwide scale. Mark Lewi-son is a consummate fan and avid historian, who hopes to complete a Trilogy about the Beatle years. The almost full upper reading room of the Garrison Library was the chosen venue for the Literary Festival talk on the first tome (at 800+ words). The book was published last year and the author has taken ten years with it, so naturally it is ‘choc- a –bloc’ with historical data. ‘The Beatles -Tune In’ is the apt title of the work because this book finis-hes in 1962 when the Beatles’ successful tra-jectory was hardly in its heyday, not to say still in its creative infancy.

I find it almost impossible to have to wait

another five years or more for the trilogy to be completed and I daresay that rele-vance in the subject matter may well have diminished by then, but in deference to a scrupulous music historian who wants to see the story retold for the definitive last time, I will wait.

Having lived through the sixties and beco-me a fan and collector of the ‘Fab Four’ sin-ce then, I have read up on them and even made two pilgrimage trips to Liverpool, seen two musicals about them and seen Paul McCartney live in concert twice. I was expecting to be bowled over by the Festival presentation but somehow I was not. Price-

less historical data, enriching though it may be to an exceptional story, cannot compete with the pace and urgency needed to make the storytelling exciting. We didn’t get to hear about how their ‘new sound’ and image (Brian Epstein’s) evolved, how they were initially rejected by a major record label, how George Martin (often re-garded as the fifth Beatle -without whom we would never have Classics like Eleanor Rigby or many other orchestrated hits) sha-ped their musical arrangements. In 1962 the phenomenal success had not yet happened.

Perhaps it was too much to get through in too in an hour, or I was too impatient, but I wanted to hear more. The photographs of their early days in Hamburg were stunning though and Mark Lewisohn’s authority im-peccable and as he told us that his publisher is behind him for the Trilogy, apparently there’s still more Beatle juice left to squeeze.

Mark lewisohn


Why Does Santa Bring Gifts?The history of Christmas and, in particular, the reasons for the giving of gifts are not known for certain, but several things are known for a fact. The traditions of Santa Claus and giving pre-sents at Christmas time began long before the birth of Jesus Christ, although it really depends on where in the world you live as to how you believe the whole tra-dition started.

The giving of presents at Christ-mas time actually dates back over 4,000 years to the Meso-potamians. They believed that every year in winter, their pri-mary god, Marduk, would do battle with the evil spirits of chaos. Upon Marduk’s return, it was necessary for the king to then pledge his allegiance to the God and he would die at the end of the year. The Mesopota-mians, obviously, cottoned on to the fact that they were going through kings quicker than they could produce them, so they would dress a convict up as the king and treat him as though he were a king for one day. At the end of the New Year festival, they would kill him!

lived in what is now Turkey. He was a widely revered and loved monk due to his overwhelming kindness. His most famous act of kindness was to save three sisters from slavery by providing them with a dowry in order that they could be married.

As such a popular character, he soon became the patron saint of many different groups of people, eventually resting on children and sailors. Traditionally St. Nicholas day was celebrated and remem-bered on December 6th, although his role as patron saint of children has seen his special day moved to coincide with Christmas.

So one thing that is certain is that Santa Claus visits us on the wrong day every single year! Celebration of Saint Nicholas should, in fact, be on December 6th, although the moving of St. Nicholas day to the 25th was presumably done to combine his special day with the Christian festival. If the large su-perstores and toy manufacturers were given the choice, I’m quite sure they would rather celebrate them separately, so be warned for next year, just in case!

On this day, they would present gifts to one another to mark the beginning of the New Year and the success that Marduk had yet again bestowed on them. This is

where the giving of Christmas gifts began.

St Nicholas is believed to have been born around 300 A.D and


Return to the KasbahText by Mark Montovio

Morocco, and in particular Tangier, has that special quality that like with old friends, allows you to pick up where you left off with that feeling that you only saw each other yesterday. Some would, of cour-se, think of stagnation and lack of progress, even a sort of déjà vue, or a ‘done it and got the t-shirt’ feeling, but again in the same way an old friend feels that invisible con-nection that is often difficult to describe, a love affair with Tangier evokes that feeling of ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ and that absence reinforces those feelings of romantic attachment and ideation.

Each of Morocco’s major cities has its own appeal, of course, but Tangier was traditio-nally the first port of call for travellers and although its glory days may be in the past, if you can handle the hustle and bustle, it remains a cultural treasure trove with a vi-brant nightlife and cosmopolitan popula-tion; a total assault on the senses.

It has changed hands more times than it cares to remember, and African and Eu-ropean sensibilities battle with each other in its jumble of architecture, ancient alle-yways and mixture of coastline and Kas-bah. The Grande Mosquée and little cafés in the Petit Socco remain much as they did at the early part of the last century,

but a visit to the terrace of the port-side Gran Café de Paris, and one mint tea and pastry’s worth of people-watching, leaves you without a doubt that this is a city still very much at the hub of human movement.

Naturally like in most places, there are plenty of things about Tangier that have the potential to seriously get under your skin. If you can make peace with these cha-

racteristics and be strategic in avoiding as many of them as you can, you will absolu-tely love it.

As I walked down the hill that leads to the entrance of Dar el Hana, the Cheshire Home in Tangier, one could have been for-given for thinking that I had walked down that hill only the day before, when in fact, a period of three years stood between visits.

Nothing had changed, sad and frustrating as that can often be, but strangely welco-ming and embracing on this occasion. The usual suspects greeted us with the typical enthusiasm as the familiar sounds and smells shrouded us. With no time wasted focusing on the protracted absence, and platitudes trying to justify it unnecessary, it was back to business as usual.

I first connected with Tangier over 25 years ago and have been associated with the Ches-hire Home there for the last 20. During that time, there has been a lot of movement and, of cours, there has been change and I am clearly very aware of the progress and de-velopment that have taken place since that first visit. Tangier, in itself, is very different to what it was 25 years ago and Dar el Hana has embraced new philosophies, procedures and attitudes which have had a marked im-pact on many of the residents. But why does it feel as if time stands still …?


In many ways, progress is slow and when we compare it with how things develop in western communities, the concept of hare and tortoise comes to mind. But much like in Aesop’s well known fable, speed is not always good and steady doggedness can win the day, but, of course, not always …. What we cannot do is look at prevailing issues through ‘Western tinted’ glasses, be-cause we are likely to miss out on what is good about slow and steady progress and a desire to hold on to what has been va-luable and worthwhile. I’m reminded here of a conversation of old with the grocer: ‘you cannot compare the taste of a carrot grown slowly, in full sunlight and with all the elements working for it with a carrot that’s modified, grown artificially in green-houses and quickly, to yield a greater crop!’ He is right ...

As the lighting visit ended and we began to disembark making our way through to customs, I noticed a group of young Americans walking before us looking as

if they had left their soul in Tarifa for safe keeping and they were now returning to claim it! ‘What a hell hole’, one said. ‘I’m glad to be out and I’m never coming back’. Phones beeped. ‘Facebook’, ‘Whatsapp’ and ‘what have you’s’, taking over. ‘Still can’t get over the service and the slimy men trying to con us!’ another added.

As they placed their ceramic bongos on the scanning belt together with their ra-ffia bags and leather camel souvenirs, I wondered how these young people could justify the viral ALS bucket challenge to the young girl, who needs to fill up lar-ge bottles from the well on a daily basis without spilling a drop on her trek back lest she be beaten, or to the old lady, who-se spine is so curved and arthritic as a re-sult of having had to work for decades just to live on a hand to mouth basis. It’s not just about the preciousness of water as a resource is it really? It’s about the frivo-lity of the whole experience and the way that western society justifies the feeding

of our own egos. I grinned as I dwelled on the thought of a little old lady donning her traditional Berber outfit and posing for a Facebook pic carrying her buckets of water and nominating dear old Fatima, Zorah and Samira!

If I was tasked with choosing one thing I’ll remember from my return to the Kas-bah, it would be easy.... I need to be more mindful of everything. Even of those little things, which may seem irrelevant or dispensable in this fast growing and constantly moving world. They do say the devil is in the detail and we do seem to have lost touch with the idea of taking our time, thinking things through and deve-loping personal opinions with conviction. It is much easier to go with the flow, a ra-pid near infectious flow these days, and to go about living our life as swiftly as the ALS bucket challenge went viral and the cold water refreshed those, who dared take on the ordeal during the hot summer months!


Sooner or later, one must trade having someone to do your was-hing, always dry your tears and act as an unpaid chauffeur for having a grown-up relationship with one's parents. For some it happens upon leaving the family home, for others when they get married, have a mortgage or a child, and some wonder if it will ever happen!

Sally is 37, on her second ma-rriage and third mortgage and has an established career of 15 years' standing. She is also the youngest of five children and has resigned herself as always being seen as the baby of the family. 'It doesn't matter how old I get or what I achieve, my Dad still treats me like a 12-year-old,' she says.

Andrea moved back in with her parents when she first split up with her ex-husband. 'They dro-ve me insane. I'd lived away from home for nearly eight years, but my mum insisted on showing me "the right way" to do things, like wash up and slice carrots. I lasted three days and went to stay with my sister instead,' she recalls.

YOUR JOB: ACT LIKE AN ADULT

Getting your parents to recog-nise you as an adult can be diffi-cult and unconsciously you may be contributing to the problem.

Everyone accepts that you have to act like an adult if you want to be treated like one, but it is easy to fall back into more childlike patterns of behaviour when you are with your parents without noticing you're doing it.

'It is common for people to feel that they are not treated as adults and a lot say that when they go home they feel like a kid again,' says Jill Curtis, a psychotherapist and author who specialises in fa-mily issues. 'It is worth watching your own behaviour to see if you are responding to it.' Curtis points out that meal ti-mes are a popular flashpoint, as they can subconsciously trigger childhood memories of fights about food. 'You may think your mother thinks you're fat, or that

she wants to feed you up. Wha-tever she's doing, there are ways of responding to it. You can say, "Mum, I'm 30, I know I don't want any more potatoes" (and say it in a grown-up way), rather than flouncing out like a 14-year-old,' she says.

SEE THEIR PERSPECTIVE

Feeling and acting like an adult around your parents is the cor-nerstone of having a grown-up relationship with them. When they do or say something that irritates you, take a step back from the situation and try to un-derstand what's behind it, rather than just reacting right away. Try to put yourselves in their shoes and understand their motivations. Ask yourself how

you'd react if it were someone else.

Often the version of our parents we carry around in our heads has little to do with the real people. We project what we think about them and react accordingly, rather than finding out who they really are and how they re-ally feel. Mums and dads were people before they were parents and you can do wonders for your relationship by getting to know them as people.Acceptance

Some people, like Sally, have to accept that their parents will never see them as equals, and adapting your expectations is an important step.

'It is very sad when people keep hoping (the relationship) will get better and it doesn't. Saying "he or she isn't going to change" is hard, but it is harder to keep putting yourself through the mill of expectation and disap-pointment,' Curtis concludes. That doesn't mean giving up on having a good relationship, it means accepting your parents as they are and adapting to it, rather than hoping they'll become so-mething they are not.

The bottom line? If you want to have a grown-up relationship with your parents, you may well have to be the grown-up!

Having a grown-up relationship with your parents

Hate being sucked back into your childhood role every time your parents are around?Here's how to take charge and gain back your adulthood

114 NOVEMBER 2014 GLOBE MAGAZINE

globe december 2014

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