Gibraltar is like Marmite.

[VO5]

My wife has just come into the room and seen my post.

She loves to do imitations of these ex pats at dinner parties. She is very good at it. She has all of us roaring.

She listens to what they say to each other and then is able to replicate it perfectly to amuse us.

If you approach any of these politely and venture to ask where in England they are from you invairably are given this answer:

"Nah Mate ! Benalmadena !".

 

[philby]

Morrisons????

nuff said pikey

 

[jonic]

Sigh...

 

[andrewbarker]

Good evening;

I would like to appeal to all members of this forum to please stop replying to any posts posted by VO5 as this man obviously likes reading his own insulting posts.

If you would all just ignore him, he would end up posting replies to his own posts and we could get on to reading more interesting posts about more interesting subjects.

I admit I could just stop clicking on this particular post but I seem to have a perverse need to see the latest stupid contribution from this person. If I continue I think I will consider treatment of some sort - don't know what yet but am sure that VO5 will come along shortly with some insulting stupid recommendation.

Aren't we lucky that we don't have to associate with this person except on a forum?

Cheers with best wishes for the New Year.

Squeaky

Let's be fair - VO5 didn't start this thread.

I must confess that I actually like some of the bloody-mindedness of the people of Gibraltar. It has kept them relatively free from outside domination and I loved the way they stuffed Jack Straw by holding a referendum. So I can see why VO5 has sensibilities.

I also think that some of the stuff posted here about the past - smuggling etc - just isn't the slightest bit relevant to the original post, which was about our opinions of Gib NOW. After all, the UK had cock fighting & bear baiting in the past; I doubt if that would influence many people's opinion of the UK now. As to financial affairs, it's probably the British regulatory system which needs reform the most urgently.

I like the way people get on with each other in Gibraltar. It seems to me that Muslims, Jews, Christians, white, black and brown, manage to get on together better there than here.

I have personally always found everyone there courteous, friendly and helpful on many, many visits - although that's only a singular view.

I'm less keen on all the development going on now - some of the reclamation is bland and corporate. and I don't like the way Catalan Bay is being built up.

However I like Gibraltar and most of all I like its individuality.

 

[KenMcCulloch]

Thank you for clarifying. I now understand... It's a joke! Someone is being deliberately stupid because they think that being a total prat is entertaining. Thank God for that. I thought for a moment it was actually serious!

The phrase 'inebriated with the exuberance of his own verbosity' occured to me.

 

[rivonia]

Listen you lot .................Leave VO5 alone he is doing a very good service and apart from reading ALL his comments and tribulations he has/is helping me and my wife decide the dates this coming Jan to come back to Good Old Gib to do some heavy shopping.

Keep it up VO5

Happy New Year to you and Yours.

Peter

 

[VO5]

The phrase 'inebriated with the exuberance of his own verbosity' occured to me.

Instead of putting your oar in here with irrelevant one liners as you habitually do , and to the opposite of what we enjoy here, you ought to put your attention on what you have right there where you are, where you have widespread football hooliganism, ordinary or common hooliganism, binge drinking, criminality and a monstrous drugs problem that gets worser and worser every day that passes.

Call me if you need me.

 

[Kilter]

worser and worser

Oh dear, oh dear...your wordsmith ability is slipping!

 

[VO5]

Listen you lot .................Leave VO5 alone he is doing a very good service and apart from reading ALL his comments and tribulations he has/is helping me and my wife decide the dates this coming Jan to come back to Good Old Gib to do some heavy shopping.

Keep it up VO5

Happy New Year to you and Yours.

Peter

Rivonia, you're welcome.

Let me know by PM if you require assistance with anything in advance of your visit and I will be very pleased to do my best to help you.

And A happy New Year 2 U 2.

 

[VO5]

Let's be fair - VO5 didn't start this thread.

I must confess that I actually like some of the bloody-mindedness of the people of Gibraltar. It has kept them relatively free from outside domination and I loved the way they stuffed Jack Straw by holding a referendum. So I can see why VO5 has sensibilities.

I also think that some of the stuff posted here about the past - smuggling etc - just isn't the slightest bit relevant to the original post, which was about our opinions of Gib NOW. After all, the UK had cock fighting & bear baiting in the past; I doubt if that would influence many people's opinion of the UK now. As to financial affairs, it's probably the British regulatory system which needs reform the most urgently.

I like the way people get on with each other in Gibraltar. It seems to me that Muslims, Jews, Christians, white, black and brown, manage to get on together better there than here.

I have personally always found everyone there courteous, friendly and helpful on many, many visits - although that's only a singular view.

I'm less keen on all the development going on now - some of the reclamation is bland and corporate. and I don't like the way Catalan Bay is being built up.

However I like Gibraltar and most of all I like its individuality.

Your post is commendable, because it is more than accurate and fair, as it is delivered from an educated viewpoint, like a flash of enlightenment in an otherwise dull world.

 

[VO5]

Oh dear, oh dear...your wordsmith ability is slipping!

No, it is spelt that way on purpose...so that the message penetrates in ways that other messages do not reach.

 

[jonic]

hooliganism, binge drinking, criminality and a monstrous drugs problem that gets worser and worser every day that passes.

He's got a point. Gib is probably the safest place I've ever walked around at night. (And I've walked around many places that aren't).

 

[DownWest]

Jonic, quite right. Small places are much easier to police, everybody knows everbody else.
Still not keen on returning.
A

 

[VO5]

He's got a point. Gib is probably the safest place I've ever walked around at night. (And I've walked around many places that aren't).

Gib is totally safe but not because it is small or because it is policed.

There are other places which are small and are more rigorously policed but have areas that are potentially dangerous and in some cases lethal.

Here anyone can walk about at night in total safety whether a resident or a visitor, of whatever age irrespective of gender, and that includes children.

This includes the few areas that are isolated and even unlit. Why ?

We have a caring society, a truly caring society in the deepest sense of the meaning. A society of people who genuinely care for each other, as it should be.

The population is about 30,000 people, more or less.

We have the following congregations Roman Catholics, Jews, Moslems, Church of England, Church of Scotland, Bahai, Jehovas Witnesses, Presbeterians, Hindis, Agnostics, Shintos, etc., iinteracting and living side by side in perfect harmony respecting each others religious persuasions.

Then we have Celts, Scots, Irish, French, Morrocan, Portuguese, Spanish, Canadian, Indian, Genoese, and their descendants etc., as above and additionally living side by side and interacting in perfect harmony.

We have a pecking order like in any other society, with a place for everybody and everybody in his place.

Then we have the Rock Apes, which we look after and venerate too.

You will not find a model society like this one anywhere in the world.

This anomaly exists because everyone recognises that we belong to much more than a population held in place by location.

We belong to a huge integrated family of Gibraltarians 30,000 strong , you see ?

Now that is an honour and a privilege that cannot be imagined unless it is experienced, because quite simply the feeling derived from just belonging, is unique.

Here everybody knows everyone else. If someone is not known personally, then there is a cousin or an uncle or aunt, or child, or husband, or wife, or nephew, or neice, or grandchild, or grandparent, or in-law, or neighbour, or colleague, or friend or whoeever who provides an a point of reference and a link.

If you yourself lived in a society like this one, imagine then you would know at least 15,000 people on christian name terms and it could take you 4 hours to walk down Main Street if you were to stop to chat to everyone who greeted you.

The police perform the perfunctory role of having a presence, walking about in uniform and directing the traffic, being genuinely helpful and now and then dealing with some minor misdemeanor.

They actually are part of society and are not regarded in the same oppressive light as as they are elsewhere. They stop and chat and have time to exchange pleasantries with everyone. They are of course unarmed.

That is why Gibraltar is unique.

It is unique as a result of the self governance of a people who view their fellow citizens (and visitors who behave properly) with the proper consideration and respect reserved for members of one's very own family, but in this case, extended to an extended family of 30,000.

...and that...is very special.

 

[Kilter]

No, it is spelt that way on purpose...so that the message penetrates in ways that other messages do not reach.

Thank you for enlightening me master!

 

[VO5]

Thank you for enlightening me master!

One can always tell who's who in the zoo so to speak, by the way they express themselves in terms of use of language and also by content.

Therefore, to encourage some reeders to actually reed some anomalies have to be included accidentally on purpose to engage their attention, you see ?

On the other hand, yachtsmen who habitually wear reefers after 6pm at the club and who behave properly are not at risk of recieving my well aimed cannonballs.

That is the reason.

 

[pennycar9]

I have been following this post since its inception, with interest.

I have posted a response,earlier, to those who have not read it, I love Gibraltar, I have been 3 or 4 times and each time it gets better. I love the Britishness, it has a wonderful climate, the Gibraltarians are superb, I fly the Gibraltar national flag on the National day, but who is this prat VO5? is he the bloody prime minister?
It seems he insults all who dares to be critical of Gibraltar.

I am sure he is about to have ago at me. That in itself will be interesting as I cannot find any thing to fault Gib about, apart from Sheppards maybe.

By the way V05, I don't have a shaven head, I am not obese,neither are my children, and I certainly dont drop my food on the floor, and, along with probably the great majority of British people, I dont have any tattoos.
This is a British forum, from a British based magazine, so I don't think you should be villifying British people on here who, for what ever reason, have an opinion,either for or against Gibraltar.

My wife and I are planning a return in 2010, we will be re visiting Charlies bar and other haunts around the marina and beyond. It would be good to meet up with a few. Is the Fleur-De-Lys still alongside in Marina bay? Can't remember her name.

 

[Vindleka]

Our impressions

I too have been following this thread, and have found the few relevant comments to be interesting, especially in light of our own experiences. We arrived in Gibraltar for the first and only time in August 2005 during a trip from the UK to Italy. We were looking forward to it immensely. We finally managed to get into Marina Bay, after motoring around outside for nearly two hours with the staff telling us that the marina was full, which it clearly wasn't. Once inside, we were moored to rings on the concrete quay which were very inadequate considering the gales that blew more or less continuously throughout our 10 day stay.

There were plenty of other places available in the marina, but whenever anybody arrived the staff refused to allow them in, constantly claiming that the marina was full. It was baffling! We watched as they turned away all nationalities, claiming not to speak English when a British boat arrived and claiming to only speak English when other nationalities arrived, forcing many to anchor out by the runway in gale force conditions. We had a long time to observe them and they were the rudest and least helpful marina staff we have come accross in nearly 5,000 miles of different harbours and marinas. The wifi was expensive and did not work, and we found the chandlers inaccessible, unhelpful and expensive.

As for the rest of the place. We found it unpleasant, unfriendly and filthy dirty. On a visit to Europa point, we found the area to be windswept and desolate, with broken cardboard boxes and rubbish flying around relentlessly.

It is true that booze and fags are cheap, and there were hoards of scrabbling people snatching as much as they could of both while we were there. It is also true that Sky Sports was on everywhere and that there is a large and well stocked supermarket nearby but we didn't leave the UK to find either of those!

These impressions were formed as first time and last time visitors. We have found it is a view shared by many of the visiting yachtsmen that we have talked to since, even if it is not shared by some who have posted on here. As for those that live there. Good luck to you. You have obviously found your 'Paradise on Earth'. If visitors continue to be treated as we were, you will not have to share it with many others!

 

[VO5]

I have been following this post since its inception, with interest.

I have posted a response,earlier, to those who have not read it, I love Gibraltar, I have been 3 or 4 times and each time it gets better. I love the Britishness, it has a wonderful climate, the Gibraltarians are superb, I fly the Gibraltar national flag on the National day, but who is this prat VO5? is he the bloody prime minister?It seems he insults all who dares to be critical of Gibraltar.

I am sure he is about to have ago at me. That in itself will be interesting as I cannot find any thing to fault Gib about, apart from Sheppards maybe.

By the way V05, I don't have a shaven head, I am not obese,neither are my children, and I certainly dont drop my food on the floor, and, along with probably the great majority of British people, I dont have any tattoos.
This is a British forum, from a British based magazine, so I don't think you should be villifying British people on here who, for what ever reason, have an opinion,either for or against Gibraltar.

My wife and I are planning a return in 2010, we will be re visiting Charlies bar and other haunts around the marina and beyond. It would be good to meet up with a few. Is the Fleur-De-Lys still alongside in Marina bay? Can't remember her name.

Watch it...you are treading on thin ice.
Two expletives in two sentences is already pushing it, you know....
If I may give you some advice, try to clean up your language and live up to the myth that all British yachtsmen are gentlemen, so that everyone can be proud of whatever duster you fly, be it red, blue or white, there's a good fellow....

 

[VO5]

I too have been following this thread, and have found the few relevant comments to be interesting, especially in light of our own experiences. We arrived in Gibraltar for the first and only time in August 2005 during a trip from the UK to Italy. We were looking forward to it immensely. We finally managed to get into Marina Bay, after motoring around outside for nearly two hours with the staff telling us that the marina was full, which it clearly wasn't. Once inside, we were moored to rings on the concrete quay which were very inadequate considering the gales that blew more or less continuously throughout our 10 day stay.

There were plenty of other places available in the marina, but whenever anybody arrived the staff refused to allow them in, constantly claiming that the marina was full. It was baffling! We watched as they turned away all nationalities, claiming not to speak English when a British boat arrived and claiming to only speak English when other nationalities arrived, forcing many to anchor out by the runway in gale force conditions. We had a long time to observe them and they were the rudest and least helpful marina staff we have come accross in nearly 5,000 miles of different harbours and marinas. The wifi was expensive and did not work, and we found the chandlers inaccessible, unhelpful and expensive.

As for the rest of the place. We found it unpleasant, unfriendly and filthy dirty. On a visit to Europa point, we found the area to be windswept and desolate, with broken cardboard boxes and rubbish flying around relentlessly.

It is true that booze and fags are cheap, and there were hoards of scrabbling people snatching as much as they could of both while we were there. It is also true that Sky Sports was on everywhere and that there is a large and well stocked supermarket nearby but we didn't leave the UK to find either of those!

These impressions were formed as first time and last time visitors. We have found it is a view shared by many of the visiting yachtsmen that we have talked to since, even if it is not shared by some who have posted on here. As for those that live there. Good luck to you. You have obviously found your 'Paradise on Earth'. If visitors continue to be treated as we were, you will not have to share it with many others!

My paradise is a private paradise inside another paradise so it is not yours. I am not sharing my particular paradise with you, that's for certain.

Of course you are welcome to visit that part of the general paradise available to you. If you like it, fine. If you don't like it, thats fine too.

You are obviously a big boy now with lots of opinions, which is excellent.

I am mystified as to how a chandlery can be both inaccessible and unhelpful at the same time....doesn't make sense. It must be one or the other, but surely not both ?
...Funny..

As a footnote, try to consider why it might be that every visitor does not have an identical opinion to yours. Can you work that one out ?