Patriotism and Gibraltar day.

[Tawi2]

Its Gib day next weekend,bunting and flags are going up everywhere,theres a real tingle of excitement in the air,the union jack is flying side by side with the Gib flag,you speak to Gib residents and ask them about the spanish and they all reply I am not spanish,I am gibraltarean Then I think back to the UK and the conversation I had last night with a couple of expat guys,the UK seems to have lost its national pride,its being flooded with folk from other countries who are emasculating it and eroding its culture,we took the rock in 1704,at a time when british guys had cojones (I still have some,I just checked)but whats happened to our national pride,everyone I met down here is glad they got out,one old guy said We dont even have our old blue passports anymore R.I.P UK

[Tawi2]

Been here almost a month One thing I have noticed,lack of eastern europeans For whatever reason they arent allowed on the rock,thousands of spaniards flock over here each morning,theres a bronze statue over in La Linea dedicated to spaniards who work on the rock,but missing are the dulcet polish tones or slovakian or ukrainian or romanian or...........I was with a guy last night,english bloke from manchester who runs a roped-access sort of business here,he was telling a couple of poles over in spain he was looking for workers who could abseil,they were all up for it till he mentioned it was on the rock

[Dedworth]

Sounds my kind of place

[Tawi2]

It is Ded,union jacks are selling out fast this week,loads of old squaddies are down here for Gib day,feel-good factor allround

[Dedworth]

I like the fact that it's Roma free - it must be fairly safe using ATM's

[Tawi2]

Gib is as safe as Honkers mate, you can wander around at all hours and not find trouble No lebanese-loops on the cash-machines at all.

[Arthur Little]

Gib is as safe as Honkers mate, you can wander around at all hours and not find trouble

"Paws for thought" ... apart from the Barbary Apes trying to nick whatever you've got in your hands, you mean?

[Terpe]

Been here almost a month One thing I have noticed,lack of eastern europeans For whatever reason they arent allowed on the rock...............

How very odd, I wonder why.
According to the Rights of Residence Directives, a European Community national may enter Gibraltar on production of a valid identity card or passport issued by a member state. Even if they are not in employment they can easily obtain a residence permit so long as they are able to satisfy the Immigration Department that they will not become a public burden and have somewhere to live.
I know that currently only long term residents and UK pensioners have access to the Gibraltar Health Service.
Maybe that's one reason why there are no Easteren Europeans. Wouldn't have thought so though.

I'm a UK pensioner. Mmm worth thinking about. I like the idea of living there for while.

Tawi how much would the average small property be to rent? Say 1 or bedrooms?
Not worried about size of any garden area.

[Englishman2010]

I've been teaching Elaine

[Englishman2010]

From the Singapore F1 Grand Prix Sept 2009

[Englishman2010]

I'll probably never get a US visa again for this )

[Dedworth]

[Tawi2]

Maybe that's one reason why there are no Easteren Europeans

Dont know Terpe,but there arent any,loads over the border in spain however,they arent missed here to be honest
English,I flew the union jack on top of Pinas highest point Mt Apo,S.E.Asias highest point Mt Kinabalu and took it to namche bazaar in Nepal,if ever I get match fit,scrounge up the £25K and realise my dream of Sagarmatha I will take one up with me

[Tawi2]

Say 1 or bedrooms?

Its Gib day saturday,got a few mates coming over from the UK for the weekend for it,great atmosphere at the moment on the rock,everyones getting their red and white clothing ready for saturday Property?I am livingin a hotel out of a suitcase at the moment as plans are changeable but I have viewed a huge 3 bedroom apartment,they were still fitting the kitchen in when I visited it,incredible view of the rock from the living room window,that was just a 10 minute walk into La Linea over in Spain,it is 700 euros a month,I have also checked out a modest 2 bedroom apartment here on the rock for £1200 a month though the same estate agent also has 1 bedrooom apartments on his books from £800 a month,might be here till christmas or might fly to blighty tomorrow,things arent panning out how I imagined,thats life

[Terpe]

Its Gib day saturday,got a few mates coming over from the UK for the weekend for it,great atmosphere at the moment on the rock,everyones getting their red and white clothing ready for saturday Property?I am livingin a hotel out of a suitcase at the moment as plans are changeable but I have viewed a huge 3 bedroom apartment,they were still fitting the kitchen in when I visited it,incredible view of the rock from the living room window,that was just a 10 minute walk into La Linea over in Spain,it is 700 euros a month,I have also checked out a modest 2 bedroom apartment here on the rock for £1200 a month though the same estate agent also has 1 bedrooom apartments on his books from £800 a month,might be here till christmas or might fly to blighty tomorrow,things arent panning out how I imagined,thats life

Thanks mate for the quick rental info. That's given me plenty of positive vibes.
I really have to consider that as a place to live for a while before ending up in Pinas 'forgoods'.
I just never ever considered Gibralter before. It never came to mind even once.

[Englishman2010]

I really have to consider that as a place to live for a while before ending up in Pinas 'forgoods'.
I just never ever considered Gibralter before. It never came to mind even once.

I've a couple of friends who have been considering it as an alternative to Spain, I don't know how true this is, but they say that the Gib Pound is linked to the GBP which means that the value of GBP over there hasn't fallen as it has done in Spain against the Euro???

[Tawi2]

I have a few pics of my union jack in different locations from a long time ago E,nostalgia

[Englishman2010]

My Union Flag always goes on my travels with me, and I try to get a photo of it if I can, here's another with a few Filipina friends in Singapore

[Tawi2]

Gib is chilled,theres even a couple of bohemian retired ecentrics living on and fixing up their boats in preparation for travelling around the world,met an ex-copper at breakfast this morning who is doing just that,quite a few pensioners here but across in spain is cheaper,theres a morrisons here,talk of a tesco,theres a M&S with decent stock,english banks etc,nice relaxing place,the view from the top of the rock is something else,africa and europe,Morocco is a hop-skip-and-jump away,portugal isnt really that far,nice little base.

[Tawi2]

Massive party here today,got a txt early this morning telling me to go down to casemates for my free Gib red and white T-shirt and red and white wig or jesters belled hat(I chose the hat as its a scorcher 34+ degrees),union jacks flying everywhere,loads of ex servicemen are in town,the rock today is one giant party,there was 1000 red and white balloons released in casemates Square earlier,brass bands playing,everyone on the streets is dressed in red and white,kids have their faces painted and their hair temporarily dyed red and white,incredible atmosphere on the rock

[Dedworth]

Sounds brilliant - thanks for the report Tawi

[les_taxi]

Wish I was there

[grahamw48]

I still have a Gibraltar postcard my dad sent me when he was stationed there mid-sixties.

It was accompanied by instructions for the concrete path he wanted me to lay, and a length of fencing for the garden....all duly completed before he came home on leave.

I was 14.