Wellington Front

The infamous scene of The Accident. Or, is it the scene of The Infamous Accident?

Wellington Front (more curtains?)

Gun emplacement – don’t fall down there either

Not much of a barrier to save you from a 12ft drop

Very low wall on the left

A bench – early tourism perhaps?

Steps up to Wellington Front

Whatever. Dear readers of more than two years may remember the fifteen-day stay in hospital due to the Broken Ankle. (Oh dear, caps fetish setting in.)

Fracture blisters

And readers of roughseas of even more yore, or more years, may even remember I suggested the government Do Something with our beautiful city walls. Like York and Chester, for example.

Whereupon, said government produced plans to do something with city walls. And nothing happened. Until, The Accident. Shortly after, work started on doing something. Coincidental, I’m sure.

So here we have the beautiful revamped Wellington Front. I have fuck all good to say about this government when they continue to employ cross-border workers at the expense of Gibraltarians and turn a blind eye to every black worker under the sun, but this is a nice job. Carried out by a firm that employs … Spaniards.

Gone is the tat kiddy play park. Instead we have a nice ramp, which people in wheelchairs and old crocks like me can use.

Walking up to Wellington Front

Then, we have a beautiful promenade with various stairway exit points for those of a more legworthy disposition.

It’s nice. It’s near, and apart from a few lairy kids at nighttime on the weekend, it’s a tranquil walk.

Wellington Front no less

A lovely evening walk

Peaceful promenade at night

Looking down to the smart front from the top of the battery

Oh those steps. Last time I went down them was on a stretcher.

Now. A few points

• Why are there no bags in the rubbish bins for ease of cleaning? Are we saving on plastic to be environmentally friendly or saving on costs?
• I don’t know how often it’s cleaned, but I haven’t seen MasterService (local main Gib street cleaners) up there.
• There is no information. At all. No boards telling us about the history of Wellington Front or Line Wall road which it abuts. Hell’s teeth. It would take only slightly longer than this blog post to write it up. Easy. Sure, I know the history, but tourists won’t. Maybe locals don’t.
• It’s not cycle friendly as a through route mainly because it isn’t a through route. The mosque is in the way of linking to the rest of the wall. Bit of a problem there. But cycles were on the original designs.

Still, it’s nice. The spooky open gaps are glassed in and the drop over the wall has been railed off.

I love Gibraltar’s history and heritage and it is good to see it being made attractive without being ruined. We just need information boards please.

Also, because people are stupid, a sign to say, please clean up after your dogs. We do. Why can’t you?

And, … best books of 2016

Series: The Solar Wind series by Lyz Russo

Favourite books within the series, probably The Assassin and Nix Romipen, but they are all hellish good. Pirates. Futuristic. Adventure. Relationships. Morals. Fun.

Memoir: An Honest House by Cynthia Reyes

Contemporary/Literary fiction: The Lost Baggage of Silvia Guzmán by Mike Robbins

Travel: My Camino Walk by Timothy L Phillips

I know. I’m biased. It’s Spain!

Erotic/Dystopian: The Heat by Jon Zelig

Incidentally what makes this book erotic isn’t the sex, it’s the relationship that is so well described. Plus Jon has done a superb self-editing job. Admirable. I have to mention that.

Short stories: Caboodle & The Whole Kit by Kevin Cooper

Photo/Animal: The Tiger Fierce by Chris and Timmy

I am a sucker for lovely photos and Chris has always been the photoblogger I actually enjoy visiting because there is nothing pretentious on there and she adds interesting text. Her rescued cat Timmy is often the subject of her discerning lens.

Many thanks to Susan M Toy for asking me to read Mike’s and Tim’s books. The others are personal internet connections.

Best book of the year: An Honest House for its sincere personal emotion, its polished prose, and like the house, its sheer honesty. Very well written Cynthia.

An honest (and beautiful) house

Runner-up: The Solar Wind series for its imagination, originality, adventure, pacing, plot, you name it, Lyz has it down to a T. If you like action, plus thoughtful reflectiveness and great dialogue plus superb characters then, read this series. Actually, if you like great writing, read this series.

The Assassin. Terrific read

And, there we have it. A mixed and motley crew. Rather like the pirates on the Solar Wind.