Spailpinfanac

Artist

[spailpinfanac]

Chapter 1

View On WordPress

[spailpinfanac]

Chapter 1

View On WordPress

[spailpinfanac]

Temp post - Website will go offline at 10pm UK time.

Temp post – Website will go offline at 10pm UK time.

Hallo everyone. And happy old year. 

I can see some readers are still catching up reading a few posts and that a few new followers have joined us today so just to clarify –

– the website will go offline today for about a week or so while I edit it and then it will be back online so thank you for your patience in advance. 

Hope new year is fabulous for you all and thank you once again for…

View On WordPress

[spailpinfanac]

3:74 (2016) Goodbye #Gibraltar. And thank you x 

*

It’s Christmas Day 2016 and its 6pm. It’s exactly the day and the time that I knew back in May I would be sitting down writing my final post for my RockHeart. I don’t know how I knew that, I just did.

* It’s been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life to relive and recall my memories of Gibraltar and sometimes it’s also been the most emotional. Some people may even say at times I’ve…

View On WordPress

[spailpinfanac]

3:73 (2016) Finally I was at the end of a week that had lasted 40 years.

3:73 (2016) Finally I was at the end of a week that had lasted 40 years.

If I was asked what I did after spending over an hour looking out at a panoramic view over Gibraltar from HM Queen Elizabeth’s viewing point on the North Face I wouldn’t be able to tell you. If I was asked what I ate for my supper on that my last evening in Gibraltar or even where I ate it I wouldn’t be able to tell you that either. 

*

I have a vague recollection of walking back down through the…

View On WordPress

[spailpinfanac]

3:72 (2016) With less than a day left in front I tripped back 300 years.

3:72 (2016) With less than a day left in front I tripped back 300 years.

*

A glass is never half empty, it’s always (in my opinion anyway) half full; although quite a sensitive and emotional person, sometimes easily hurt (even at my age) I’m not irrational and I do have a very optimistic personality. No sooner had I thought that I had less than twenty-four hours left on my beloved Rock I immediately rethought that thought (if it’s possible to rethink a thought)…

View On WordPress

[spailpinfanac]

3:71 (2016) Back streets of #British #Gibraltar feel like home to me.

3:71 (2016) Back streets of #British #Gibraltar feel like home to me.

*

It didn’t seem like five minutes since I’d left the Alameda and found myself having my evening meal with Carol, Sheila and Joe at (once again) Jury’s on Main Street – a place that over the course of a week we had all become extremely found of. The food and customer service were always excellent and of course we never forgot their honesty in looking after our expensive camera after we forgot to…

View On WordPress

[spailpinfanac]

3:70 (2016) Silence and nature are sometimes all I want to hear.

3:70 (2016) Silence and nature are sometimes all I want to hear.

*

Within seconds of stepping off a bus (full of chattering people heading into town) I found myself in the magical silent world that is Alameda Botanical Gardens, such is the wonder of Gibraltar that you can do that. 

*

*

In addition to the dozens of mini communities that make up her diverse population of 32000 human beings this beautiful little Nation also boasts dozens of mini Nirvanas…

View On WordPress

[spailpinfanac]

3:69 (2016) A bus ride from Europa to Alameda

3:69 (2016) A bus ride from Europa to Alameda

Taking a bus ride in a country you don’t live in is the most organic of experiences because (for the duration of the journey) you’re sampling a new culture close up while sitting in a seat next to local people; whenever I’ve done it (in well over a dozen countries) I’ve loved it for the pure wonder and privilege of being able to share the lives (albeit briefly) of people from a different world to…

View On WordPress

[spailpinfanac]

3:68 (2016) #Gibraltar lighthouse holds iconic status for me.

3:68 (2016) #Gibraltar lighthouse holds iconic status for me.

*

Coming out of the tunnel the very first thing I saw was the lighthouse which for me (as well as being yet another fabulous place to visit) holds an almost iconic status. As with all mariners, seafarers and sailors lighthouses are key to keeping safe particularly when traversing dark and stormy seas and I know only too well from experience how terrifying some voyages can be. While on patrol…

View On WordPress

[spailpinfanac]

3:67 (2016) Searing memories of a life-changing catalyst were overpowering.

3:67 (2016) Searing memories of a life-changing catalyst were overpowering.

*

Somewhere in the area of Camp Bay or Nuffield Pool was a tunnel that we used to walk through all the way to Catalan Bay and though I know it’s no longer open to pedestrians it’s often bugged me that I never remembered where it was. Perhaps that quest can go on my bucket list for when I return to the Rock. Having said that it didn’t stop me loving soaking up the familiarity of things that I did…

View On WordPress

[spailpinfanac]

3:66 (2016) The last, present and future of Camp Bay, #Gibraltar

3:66 (2016) The last, present and future of Camp Bay, #Gibraltar

(The Dolphins of Camp Bay)

*

Looking down at Camp Bay I had only very vague recollections of the resort (certainly those Dolphins) but couldn’t for the life of me remember there being so much concrete. For a minute I was sure there used to be more beach before than there is now but then when I looked back at an old photo of my daughter (she’s in red below) at the venue I have to concede perhaps…

View On WordPress

[spailpinfanac]

3:65 (2016) Gibraltarianism connects the diverse communities of #Gibraltar

3:65 (2016) Gibraltarianism connects the diverse communities of #Gibraltar

*

(Trafalgar Cemetery)

*

All around the area of Trafalgar House is very familiar to me and acutely emotive as our first apartment was in that building. During my week on the Rock I’d passed by (and through) the area many times visiting Trafalgar Cemetery, Alameda Gardens and en route to the 100-ton gun – I’d even (nostalgically) sneaked inside Trafalgar House and up to the floor of my old…

View On WordPress

[spailpinfanac]

3:64 (2016) Wherever I go in #Gibraltar I'm a young parent again.

3:64 (2016) Wherever I go in #Gibraltar I’m a young parent again.

It must have been somewhere around 1pm when we arrived at the Bristol and it wasn’t long afterwards that we all went our separate ways – by which I mean everyone went to the poolside except me who (once again) hit the road on what I knew was to be one of my last walkabouts. As I took off up Main Street on my way to Europa Point I knew within minutes I was in for quite an emotional afternoon, just…

View On WordPress

[spailpinfanac]

3:63 (2016) It's impossible to not be chilled out in #Gibraltar

3:63 (2016) It’s impossible to not be chilled out in #Gibraltar

Coming out of the Glassblowers exhibition into Casemates saw Sheila and Joe head straight for a bench seat to rest where Carol took a few photos of them sitting in the sunshine; although I remember making some sort of joke about Mutt-and-Jeff on Crimewatch I knew they were loving their holiday and though I didn’t know it at the time that was something that become very important later. After…

View On WordPress

[spailpinfanac]

3:62 (2016) The amazing Glassblowers of Gibraltar Crystal

3:62 (2016) The amazing Glassblowers of Gibraltar Crystal

When the sun shines down in Casemates it’s quite a sun trap and if you happen to be chilling out with coffee and (what I think they call) churros then you’re about as close to heaven as you can get; if I lived (again) in Gibraltar it’s very much where you would find me every (warm) morning having breakfast and people-watching. It’s also very probably where you might find me every warm evening…

View On WordPress

[spailpinfanac]

3:61 (2016) I think that Museum lady thought I was a little eccentric.

3:61 (2016) I think that Museum lady thought I was a little eccentric.

One of the easiest things to do when you’re absorbed in something you find fascinating is to lose track of time which is exactly what happened to me during my visit to see the Neanderthal exhibition at the Gibraltar Museum. One minute I’m standing agog, mouth open amidst a group of children looking at an amazing exhibition and the next minute I’m still standing agog looking at the same exhibition…

View On WordPress