Jo Ward - page 3

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is divided into several major residential areas, all uniquely different, and each with its own benefits. If you are looking to buy or rent a property in Gibraltar, and you are not fully aware of how the districts on the Rock differ from one another, Insight offers this easy guide to help you make up your mind as to where to start your search. It goes without saying that prices vary in the different districts, depending on location, infrastructure, availability of parking spaces, and other factors. 

Town Area

This is the heart of the Rock, and the area to which most of the tourists flock. Start at Casemates Square where you will find a plethora of al fresco restaurants, cafés and bars, then take a wander up Main Street, now pedestrianised, where there are a variety of retail shops, boutiques, convenience stores, restaurants and English pubs. The Town Area is a convenient place to live with everything within easy walking distance. Most of the residential property is located in the colonial style buildings and its worth exploring the many lanes and side streets that lead off Main Street where you will find townhouses, often split into apartments, set around courtyard patios. 

Eastside

Plenty of choice for residential property on the Eastside, which is just a bus ride away from the town. Rows of brightly coloured houses sit along the beachside at Catalan Bay which lends a ‘village’ feel to this area. Once home to the Caleta Hotel, now demolished, it is set to be replaced by a new five-star Hilton Hotel. The soon-to-be completed E1 residential development offers an array of studios, one bedroom apartments and penthouses. Further along, located directly above Sandy Bay, Both Worlds is a residential complex that offers spectacular views. 

South District

As it says, the South District is situated at the southernmost tip of Gibraltar. It is a popular residential area, benefitting from local schools. Many of the properties boast spectacular views of the Strait of Gibraltar and the African coastline. Developments in this area include The Anchorage, Clifftop House, The Cliftons, Rosia Plaza and Vineyards as well as some exclusive high end developments including Buena Vista Park, The Sanctuary and New Aloes.

The South District is said to enjoy its own micro-climate and during the summer months the areas of Camp Bay, a small rocky beach with a natural swimming pool, and Little Bay, a natural rocky cove that also offers a small children’s pool, are popular with bathers.  

Westside

The main commercial hub of Gibraltar, this area is where many luxury developments have been constructed on reclaimed land, including Europort Business Centre and a mix of apartments and commercial spaces in Atlantic Suites. Other developments in this area include Europlaza, Waterport Terraces, Harbour Views, Peninsular Heights, Westview Park and Montague Gardens. Westside is also where the Port of Gibraltar is situated, sitting alongside Morrisons supermarket and St. Bernard’s Hospital. 

Queensway Quay Marina is situated along the Westside. Only a short walk from the town centre, this offers a tranquil setting where you can enjoy a meal or a drink at one of the many restaurants lining the quayside. Ragged Staff Wharf, as the quayside at Queensway Quay Marina is called, is probably the oldest wharf in Gibraltar. Apart from Ragged Staff Wharf, the residential areas include Cormorant Wharf at its northern end; The Sails, which is lined on both sides by yacht berths; Ordnance Wharf with apartments, penthouses and town houses, and an open air swimming pool, framed on its western edge by The Island, a private development of nineteen luxury houses on reclaimed land. 

Upper Town

Upper Town is reached by traversing steep hills and narrow streets, but once there it offers great views over the city centre. Also known as the ‘old town’, this area is being revitalised with many of the heritage buildings receiving investment. Parking spaces are at a premium, but the good news is that Upper Town is only a five minute walk down to Main Street! Within easy reach of the protected. Nature Reserve, the Moorish castle and some of the important fortifications that reflects its history. 

North District

This is where Devils Tower Road, the long road that runs almost from the Airport to the beaches, can be found. The area is undergoing a transformation, and whereas in the past it was known as an industrial zone mainly housing warehouses, construction firms and car dealers, plans are afoot to revitalise this district into a more residential district with contemporary apartment blocks where people can work, live in communities and socialise. 

Ocean Village

A short walk from Gibraltar Airport, the border crossing, and the World Trade Center, Ocean Village and adjacent Marina Bay offer a mix of residential apartments, commercial space and offices as well as boasting the berth for the world’s first five star yacht hotel, the Sunborn Gibraltar. 

Ocean Village is Gibraltar’s prime destination for yachts, with a new superyacht marina under construction, and with a reputation as an entertainment and party area there are plenty of international bars and restaurants overlooking the marina that are frequented by crew members locals and tourists alike. Apartment buildings such as Royal Ocean Plaza, Grand Ocean Plaza, Majestic Ocean Plaza and Ocean Spa Plaza offer great sea views, some with large terraces and communal pools. 

Whatever you are looking for in terms of property, whether to live, rent, or as an investment, there is definitely something for everyone here in the different districts of Gibraltar. 

Insight’s Jo Ward was invited to Broadcasting House by CEO James Neish to hear about the new plans that will be rolled out from 6th March and to go behind the scenes to sit-in on a test for a new visualised radio programme. 

Having left Gibraltar in 2016 to pursue a career in the UK, working for the BBC and helping to set up Times Radio amongst other jobs, James Neish returned to the Rock in October last year to start his role as CEO of Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation (GBC). Having been appointed back in June, James says that he had started reviewing what needed to be done that summer so that so he could hit the ground running with the changes that will take place in March.  

“One of the first things I did was a public survey, both face-to-face in Main Street and then online, with about 600 respondents,” he states. What came out of the survey was really encouraging, with 80% rating GBC as highly important to the community. 97% said that they consume GBC news in some form and the 8.30 pm GBC news programme continues to be a firm favourite in households. “The survey also showed a huge rise in how people consume on social media and on radio, but more than anything what we took away from this was how valued GBC is to the community and how much people want it,” says James. “I also held one-to-one meetings with all members of staff to help shape the plans for the future.”

James comments that these changes were part of the vision that he presented to the Board when applying for the job, but that they are also heavily influenced by the feedback from listeners and viewers, and from the staff. “Having the vision is the easy part – it is how you deliver it – and one of the things that we have to be very careful about and which we are eager to get right is how to sustain anything that we change.”

“Broadcasting is not an exact science, so we will try some things – and some will work and some might not work and then we will change them in 3 or 6 months’ time.” The way we consume news is constantly changing and at a time when there is so much access to information, the role of a public service broadcaster has never been more important. “There is so much noise out there and somebody has to filter through all that noise and sometimes access to information is very difficult to find, and it is important as a responsible broadcaster for us to filter through all that and give you the unfiltered version of news so that the public can make up their own minds.”

At his first staff meeting, James spelt out his vision for GBC using the word LOCAL as an acronym: L for local, O for originality, C for community, A for audiences and L for live. 

“You will notice that we have more of a live element in news, trying to capture it as it happens,” he explains.  “One of the big changes that we are implementing from March is a massive revamp of our lunchtime news hour which at the moment has Gibraltar Today as a working title.” The idea is that it will be a live programme with interviews which sets the agenda earlier in the day than GBC News at 8.30 pm. “This lunchtime edition is going to be on radio and also visualised for television, and it’s really exciting and a big step away from a traditional radio programme,” James tells me. Jonathan Scott will produce and present the new programme, with Ros Astengo taking over GBC’s weekly current affairs programme Viewpoint. 

Schedule Changes

James explains that from 6th March all the TV schedule changes. “The new schedule will allow for about two and a half hours of extra local content a week – that is 10 hours of local content a month.” One of the things that came out of the survey was that people were not happy with the number of TV repeats. “We are being led by the data, so that is something that we are addressing and all programmes will go down to just one repeat, and we will ensure that before and after the 8.30 pm News, there will never be a repeat, except for one slot on the Fridays.”

The changing face of news consumption means that people want to know about breaking stories as soon as they happen. “We will be starting hourly summaries on radio between 7 am and 6 pm and between 9 am and 2 pm at weekends which will be a massive Newsroom led initiative,” James says. “The idea is that we will also have sixty second flash summaries, with the three top stories of the day, but by sitting just before the World Service they also give us the opportunity to extend that bulletin in ‘Breaking News’ scenarios.”

To celebrate its 60th Anniversary as Gibraltar’s national broadcaster, GBC is delving into the archives to broadcast content from the past on Friday evenings in a programme titled GBC Rewind, featuring snippets of news and music performances. “We have spent a lot of money digitising the archives and we want to share it with viewers and listeners.”  

With all the extra content and new programming, there comes a lot of technicalities. James talks about the brand changes. “The studio is getting a bit of a revamp and a fresher look. That is phase one and then depending on listener and audience feedback we will continue to develop what has gone down well and whatever doesn’t work will go.”

Something that James wants to achieve with the proposed changes is for the corporation to be seen as one GBC. “We have eighty staff here but they are divided, for internal purposes, so for example we have television, radio, newsroom, engineering and admin departments and I am keen for us to work as one GBC.”

James leads me up to the TV Production Team area. Although having started as a production trainee back in 1996 at GBC, James has never worked in the new GBC building. “Until only last week I still got lost in the corridors,” he laughs. The large room is busy and full of staff members working at computers. James introduces me to Guy who is putting content from TV programmes onto the socials. “Instead of doing a promo for the programme, we now pull what we think was a good quote and put that online and we get a lot more engagement,” Guy says, adding that some of the videos have done extremely well with more than 10,000 views, with people now discovering programmes that they may not have known of before. As we speak the social media counter on Guy’s windowsill clicks over showing Likes in real time. “It’s exciting and really makes us feel part of what is going on.” James’ long-term plan would be to try and expand with a Digital department. “It’s a big task, but one that needs to be undertaken. 

We move across to the team that creates the content for producers and visual assistants. “Kyle is our designer extraordinaire,” James says. “We mostly use our handbook to reference when we start to design or make changes seasonally for our brand, so we refer back to the thinking and conceptualisation that we have put a lot of effort into before, why we chose what colours and shapes – everything has a meaning behind it,” Kyle elucidates. “The same way that we use green screen in the studios, we can use green screen within graphics, and here we are exploring some concepts for podcasts on radio and TV and also trying to build a brand around Jonathan Scott’s new programme.” 

James introduces me to Wes, the Continuity and Online Producer. “The person who I drive insane with all the technicalities,” James comments, explaining that although local is very important, they also commission programmes and that Wes looks after all the imports. Wes tells me that even until five years ago they used to receive things on tape but that everything is now transferred digitally. “The other part of what I do is to make sure that all the content is prepared for transmission and then I oversee the transmission and keep things ticking.”

James tells me about yet another change coming along from 6th March. “We are going to have a live weather TV presenter, a meteorologist, commissioned from the UK – with a segment especially made for us in association with the Met Office in Gibraltar. Wes has been coordinating with our provider on the technicalities, working out how those files are going to reach us and to make sure that it is here and ready to broadcast on time.”

Time to head back down to the basement area where the radio studios are situated to meet Jonathan Scott and Principal Engineer at GBC John Balestrino. Jonathan’s new programme will be broadcast from here but as it will also be live on television, things such as lighting, camera positions and microphone angles have to be decided upon. The idea is to have a stream of guests coming in, so the studio will accommodate a co-host as well as Jonathan and a main guest. I’m given the opportunity to sit in the guest chair to see how it will look on camera and I ask Johnathan how he feels about the new show. “It is exciting,” he replies. “I used to do radio, and I love radio, and I am looking forward to the connection that you get with the audience because it feels much more immediate than television and enables you to make an individual connection with people.”

 “The crux of the show is to develop the news of the day sooner, between 1 and 2 pm,” James states. “So if a news story breaks, the audience don’t have to wait until the evening to get more on it.”

Our last stop on my tour was up to the Master Control Room, where Programme Controller Kristle sits in front of a bank of screens showing everything that is on air. “We are here to test putting our visualised radio programme on air,” Wes says. “During the daytime we have what we call the day loop – where we run promos with Radio Gibraltar sound over the top – so the idea for this room is to get from the day loop to the new radio programme which is going to come up via the camera feeds, and thanks to the engineering team we have managed to get that through and tested a few weeks back.” Kristle demonstrates by switching to screens showing the two radio studios downstairs. 

As the end of my tour at GBC comes to an end, the conversation turns to what Jonathan should wear on air – a suit, shirt and tie or a jumper? He laughs as he says: “you can bet the first thing that people comment on is whether I dress appropriately or whether I need a haircut!”

Valentine’s Day is often claimed to be the most romantic day of the year, but how did the 14th of February come to be celebrated as a day of romance? It goes way back 270 AD when, according to legend, Saint Valentine of Rome was beheaded

Interestingly, there was not just one Saint Valentine but three who lived during the 3rd century AD, but the patron saint of lovers is most likely to be Saint Valentine of Rome who was allegedly jailed by Roman Emperor Claudius II for his deceit and unwillingness to obey the emperor’s orders to stop performing Christian marriages and aiding persecuted Christians. 

With Valentine’s Day now being synonymous with love and relationships, it makes it the perfect day to propose to a loved one and there will be no forgetting the memorable date. So how should you go about creating that magical proposal? 

There was a trend a couple of decades ago for dropping an engagement ring in a glass of bubbles or popping it in some sort of food over a romantic dinner! Beware… this could lead to a disastrous mishap, a broken tooth, a choking incident or maybe even a trip to A&E if the ring is swallowed!

How about a beach proposal? What could be more romantic than being beside a beautiful ocean, feeling the soft sand between your toes, maybe at sunset with not many other people around you? Take your partner for a romantic stroll and just happen upon the proposal that you had written in the sand earlier (during low tide of course), or lead them to where you have spelt out your request with sea shells. 

Water has traditionally said to be a lucky setting to ask the question. Whether that’s sitting by a lake, river or the ocean, in a yacht, boat or canoe, being on or near water is the one of the most perfect private and intimate places for a proposal. Just hold tight to that engagement ring as there was an infamous marriage proposal in a romantic lakeside setting that went horribly wrong when the groom-to-be dropped the ring through decking and into the water.

Nothing says ‘I love you’ louder than a ‘will you marry me’ banner flying behind a light aircraft high in the sky for all to see. This is the ultimate way to deliver your romantic message, although it may be a bit costly. Aerial letter banners can be customised with your own special proposal and can be flown in certain areas. Arrange a date and take your partner for a day at the beach or another suitable venue, and once you spot the plane, ask them if they can read what it says on the banner.

For something that little bit extraordinary, proposing at the top of a mountain during sunrise will certainly create that unforgettable memory. One of the most beautiful places in Gibraltar is at the top of the Rock. Take the cable car or, if you are both feeling fit, climb the Mediterranean Steps for the perfect proposal location. Another spectacular venue is Gibraltar’s Skywalk which offers breath-taking views spanning three countries and two continents. 

Lighthouses are beacons of hope, so proposing to your loved one by a lighthouse could be symbolic of your hopes for the future. Gibraltar’s Trinity Lighthouse at Europa Point is situated on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. With views of North Africa across the Strait of Gibraltar on a clear day, it could be the perfect setting for a proposal – but try to arrange for someone to be around to photograph the surprise event for posterity. 

One of the most beautiful places to pop the question is somewhere surrounded by nature amid beautiful greenery and stunning flowers in a calming environment. The Alameda Botanic Gardens lie at the foot of the Rock of Gibraltar and are an oasis of tranquillity in a busy city. Once your proposal has, hopefully, been accepted, the Gardens are also the perfect location for an intimate dream wedding ceremony. The Italian style garden, known as ‘the Dell’, is a spectacular spot in which to tie the knot.

Incurable romantics would love the incredible experience of a fairy tale proposal in a castle. There are beautiful castles in Europe that could offer the ideal setting. Think about organising a private dinner just for two where you would be surrounded by roses, candles and serenaded by musicians. 

If you’re feeling brave, ask your loved one to marry you over an aeroplane’s loudspeaker system, maybe channelling your inner Adam Sandler when his character Robbie enlisted Billy Idol and some flight attendants for an in-flight song and proposal to Julia (Drew Barrymore) in the film ‘The Wedding Singer’.

If flying high isn’t for you, getting engaged at the top of a Ferris wheel is definitely something different. Ask the operator for a private cabin and if they can stop the wheel at the very top, then drop down on one knee in the expectation that you will hear the word ‘yes’. Most large cities have skyscrapers with observation decks from which you can see the whole area or rooftop restaurants and bars which would be impressive places in which to get engaged. 

Whether you’re popping the question on Valentine’s Day or any other day of the year, at home or in some other magical place, in a private setting or a public place, no matter where you choose to propose – it’s what comes from your heart and the words that you use that will make it unforgettable. 

Born in Chile, Pancho Campo was a talented tennis player in his youth. “I wish I had been more talented, that’s why I did not climb in the ATP rankings, but I became a very successful coach,” he explains. Pancho was Captain of the Chilean Olympic Team in Barcelona 1992, then travelled the ATP Tour for a couple of years, working for the Academy with students such as Andrea Agassi and Pete Sampras. 

“It was whilst I was coaching on the Tour that I was hired by the Government of Qatar to be their tennis director and their Davis Cup coach,” Pancho states, going on to add that he was very honoured to be the coach of the current Emir and the President of the Paris Saint-Germain football team.

Pancho Campo is a man who has managed to combine his passions in life with his business life. “My role model has always been Richard Branson, and like Richard Branson I have tried to turn all my passions into business – so therefore sports, music, wine and lately in the last ten years the environment.”

When he retired from tennis about thirteen years ago, Pancho created his own events management company. “By default we started organising tennis exhibitions and tournaments with the likes of Pat Cash, Stefan Edberg, Andre Agassi and Emilio Sánchez Vicario, but eventually we moved into organising music concerts with artists such as Sting, Pink Floyd, Tom Jones and the Gypsy Kings.”

“Music was always a big part of my life and it was always a dream of mine to be able to organise a concert, so our first concert was in the year 2000 with Enrique Iglesias when he was number one in the charts, and that went so well that we continued organising events for many years,” Pancho says. 

Admitting that there are still things he can’t do in this life, Pancho says that he is terrible at playing an instrument or soccer. “If you ask me what my number one asset is, it is event management. I am a good organiser whether that is a concert, a conference or a sporting event.”

At an age when many people think about retiring, Pancho decided to something meaningful. “I have been very lucky in life and that is what led me to create the Planet Future Foundation as a legacy to my kids, but also you have got to be thankful and when life has treated you well I think it is nice to give back to society,” says Pancho.

It was in 2003 when he started taking climate change seriously. “I love snow skiing and I started listening to people complaining that the quality of the snow was not the same any more, that the seasons were different – sometimes shorter, sometimes longer,” he explains. 

In those days it was called global warming and at the same time Pancho was preparing to become a Master of Wine. It was in 2006 when he realised there was a direct link between wine and the changing climate and this led to him to organise an international conference on climate change and wine. “It was a crazy idea,” he laughs. “A big flop, because in those days nobody spoke about climate change.” Only about 80 people showed up to what Pancho hoped would be a 200-person event, however two very good things did come out of it. Many of those who attended were journalists from international media outlets like National Geographic, the BBC and the wine media who “were all very curious to know who the crazy guy was talking about climate change and the wine industry,” Pancho jokes. The second important thing is that two months after the event Pancho got a phone call from the office of Vice President Al Gore inviting him to attend a two-day training in Seville for climate change leaders. “I told him everything that we had learnt about climate change and wine in our first conference and I convinced him to be my key note speaker at the next edition.” Eighteen months later VP Al Gore had released the documentary ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ – he won an Oscar, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and won Spain’s prestigious Prince of Asturias Award. “So when he showed up in Barcelona he was probably the most famous human being on earth at the time.”

“The conference that had started out with just eighty delegates on the first edition then went up to eight hundred people coming from more than seventy countries in just two years – all the big names of the wine industry were there, and that allowed us to recover what we had lost in the first edition, but it also gave use the encouragement to continue doing this.” In future editions as well as VP Al Gore who came to five of the events, Pancho welcomed Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and in 2018 he managed to convince US president Barack Obama to be the key note speaker at an event in Porto, Portugal.

It was during the pandemic lockdown period that Pancho managed to put together everything that was required to set up the Planet Future Foundation, an NGO registered in Miami. “It is a fully non-profit organisation with the main goal being to create awareness of the impacts of the climate crisis, the damage we are doing to the environment and to show the solutions available. We are doing this through expeditions and trips we started organizing early this year to enable us to gather data and record documentaries,” explains Pancho. 

The first fund raiser that Pancho is putting together is an event in Gibraltar on 16th March at The Sunborn called Exploring the Climate Crisis. “We are going to show some footage that we have recorded in Greenland, in the Caribbean and in Florida about how climate change has impacted different parts of the world and how we are all connected, and then we are going to have a panel with local experts including Minister John Cortes, Lewis Stagnetto from the Nautilus Project and Dr Keith Bensusan from the Gibraltar Botanic Gardens.”

This will be followed by a Charity Wine Gala Dinner with wines provided by a winery that is involved with environmental issues where each wine will be presented by a representative of the winery trying to explain to the audience what the relationship is between wine and climate change.

The most important message that Pancho wants to get across is to “vote for leaders who have a climate program compatible with our ideas.” This is particularly important when addressing young people who are going to vote for the first time. “Don’t vote for the person that is better looking, don’t vote because your pal is voting for that candidate or your family has voted for them, read their program and it has to be compatible with your beliefs.”

Pancho concludes by saying that once you elect a politician, a business leader or a community leader, you have to make them accountable. “It is your right as a citizen and your obligation to question your leaders if they are not doing what they promised to do and if we start choosing the right leaders that care about the issues that are important to us then we can start seeing some change.”

To register for the dinner email: info@planetfuturefoundation.org 

For more information go to: www.planetfuturefoundation.org 

The Chief Minister – PART 2

Following on from our interview with Gibraltar’s Chief Minister in the last issue, we find out how The Hon Fabian Picardo KC MP deals with stress and how he juggles family life with a hectic schedule. 

Stress affects all of us sometimes, no matter what type of work we do or don’t do, whether you are the CEO of a large company, a member of staff or the head of government. “I believe I am the only Chief Minister who has had all of his issue in office,” The Hon Fabian Picardo says, “so this is a normality for my children.” For the Chief Minister this can mean long hours with lots of travel and that can make achieving a balance between work and family life difficult.

“From the very first day that I was elected and entered No. 6, I have wondered whether it was going to be my last day and I think that is the only healthy way to approach it, and I see myself only as the current Chief Minister of Gibraltar and I tell my children that Daddy is a lawyer – who is presently doing a job in Government – so that they understand that Mummy and Daddy are both lawyers and that is what they do and that I am just doing this for now.”

The Chief Minister admits that 2021 was the toughest year he has ever had in his life. “It wasn’t my toughest year in Government – it was my toughest year in life,” he states, going on to say that 2022 was slightly better but still not easy. “You don’t sign up for a job like the job I do if what you want is an easy ride, but I didn’t quite expect some of the ups and downs that we have had to go through.”

Asked how he deals working in a high stress environment, the Chief Minister says: “to tell you the truth I don’t feel stress for the simple reason that I learnt very early on some basic rules about life.”

“When I was in school my mother always used to say to me ‘I’m never going to ask you to do anything other than your best, so don’t think I am going to expect that you should do things that you cannot do, but you must do your best’ and whenever I used to do something she used to say ‘that’s good – make the good better, make the better best’ and I have taken that with me through life.”

Outlining his daily routine, The Hon. Fabian Picardo says that he wakes up very early. “The day begins at 6.30 am and the first thing I do is to start going through emails and WhatsApp’s.” He spends the next hour or so reading the relevant Gibraltar, Spanish and UK national newspapers, listens to the UK radio, watches some Spanish television programmes and listens to the Gibraltar news. “All of this whilst I am doing some physical training and trying to answer those emails, before I then I take my children to school.”

Whenever he can snatch some extra minutes, such as getting in to the car or walking down to the office, the Chief Minister continues to try to look at and deal with messages. “I carry on doing that through the day and I won’t stop that until about 1 am when I go to sleep,” he says, joking that he needs more sleep than Joe Bossano needed! Margaret Thatcher is famously said to have slept for only four hours a night. “I need between five and a half to six hours sleep, and what I take from that is that it is not humanly possible to do more without affecting my health.”

Heeding his mother’s advice, Fabian Picardo says that he does his best to answer all the emails and to deal with all of the documents on a daily basis. “I try to bring my best to it even if I am tired and therefore I don’t feel that I am stressed because I feel that I have done as much as I could do.”

Even if he does find time to put his feet up, to read a novel or watch a movie with the family, the Chief Minister says that he tends to be working as well. “That is what stops me from being stressed,” he says, “knowing that I have done as much as I can and as best as I can, and I know that my parents would be proud.”

There is, however, one thing that seems to have an adverse effect on his mental health. “I was doing Wordle as a bit of relief because sometimes looking away from something also helps you to see something different in the problem that you were dealing with, but that made me stressed!”

Christmas is coming and the excitement is building. Alright, I know it’s early, but twinkling lights are already evident in shopping centres and the sentimental adverts that cajole us into buying lots of Christmas goodies that we don’t really need have started to be shown on television. 

So what is the secret to having a happy and stress free Christmas?  It’s meant to be a time of good cheer, but for some it can be anything but merry!

Mum on the Rock has a few tips that may help. 

Remember

It’s only one day. Why do we all get ourselves so worked up over cooking the Christmas dinner when it’s really not much different to preparing a Sunday roast?

Presents

Present buying can be stressful, especially for those of us on a budget. Teaching children to understand how fortunate they are that they receive lots of gifts is important, so a nice idea can be to also make Christmas about giving to others. Asking them to donate one of their presents to a charity of their choice will help them learn that not everybody is as lucky as they are.

Supermum’is a myth!

 “I did all my Christmas shopping four months ago,” she exclaims. Whilst it can be a good idea to pre-plan and look out for bargains, how many of us realistically buy next year’s Christmas presents in the January sales? 

Make your freezer your friend

Leaving everything until the last minute can be exhausting, so take advantage of your freezer and fridge and take the chaos out of Christmas.  Most all your Christmas dinner dishes can be frozen or put in the fridge beforehand.

Lists

Make a list – and check it twice! Well, maybe don’t do that, but definitely making a list will ensure that you don’t forget to buy a present for Auntie Sue or omit to buy the cranberry sauce. 

Delegate

Nobody can be expected to do everything, so divvy up the jobs. Get someone to lay the table the day before, get someone else to peel the potatoes and make sure that someone else is in charge of buying batteries. Toys without batteries on Christmas Day equals disaster, and nobody wants to make that trip to the garage to buy some. 

Although Christians and non-Christians alike celebrate Christmas, Christians mostly see Christmas as a religious holiday occasion, while most non-Christians mark it as a cultural time of year.

With over 4,200 religions around the world, some of which celebrate Christmas and some of which don’t, we take a look at a few of the different celebrations and traditions that are celebrated by other faiths. 

Hanukkah 

Hanukkah meaning ‘dedication’ is an eight day event and commemorates when the Jews were able to reclaim their land from the Seleucids around 200 BC. It typically takes place between late November and late December, beginning on the 25th day of Kislev, which is the ninth month of the Jewish calendar.

Christmas sometimes overlaps with the Jewish Holiday of Hanukkah where the customs are similar to that of Christmas and apart from sending cards to loved ones, and decorating the Christmas tree, you will find them lighting candles on the menorah (candelabra) and frying latkes (pan-fried potato pancakes). Although there are only eight nights of Hanukkah, there are nine branches on a menorah because the one at the centre is intended to hold the Shamash, a candle used to light the others. During each night of the festival, the family gathers around the menorah. On the first night the head of the family lights one candle with the Shamash and on the second night two candles are lit, and so on, until all eight candles are lit on the eighth night. Each night, gifts are given. In some families, children play a spinning game with a small four-sided wooden top called a dreidel. On each side of the top is one letter of NGHS, or Nes Godol Hoyoh Shom, which means “A great miracle happened there.”

Diwali

Diwali, the five-day Festival of Lights, is celebrated by millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world and depending on the Lunar Calendar it is held in either October or November. It is widely associated by Hindus with the goddess Lakshmi, who symbolises three virtues: wealth and prosperity, fertility and abundant crops, as well as good fortune.  

The festival celebrates new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. Festivities reach their peak on the third day, Diwali itself, when the occasion is marked with candles and lights in homes, businesses and temples and people dress up in brightly coloured new clothes and beautiful saris, shiny gold and silver jewellery and paint their skin with henna designs. 

Ramadan

Muslims around the world celebrate Ramadan, which marks the month the prophet Mohammed is believed to have had their holy book, the Koran, revealed to him by God. Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic lunar calendar, being 11 to 12 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar. The celebration starts at the first sighting of the moon in Ramadan. 

Muslims cannot eat and drink at all in the daytime during this period, breaking their fast, called sawm, only when the sun sets and again before the sun rises. During the fast, no food or drink is consumed, and thoughts must be kept pure. Followers of Islam believe that fasting teaches patience, modesty, and spirituality.

Meals served before sunrise are called Suhoor, and after sunset they are called Iftar, and these meals are eaten with family or with the local community. Many Muslims observe Iftar by eating three dates, just as the prophet Mohammed did when he broke his own fast.

Suhoor and Iftar meals typically contain fresh fruits, vegetables, halal meats, breads, cheeses, and sweets. The days are spent in prayer and reflection and it is also a time when Muslims are encouraged to give to charity, strengthen their relationship with God and show kindness and patience

Eid

The fast ends with the celebration of Eid al-Fitr, meaning ‘Festival of Breaking the Fast’, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. The three day feast, often referred to as ‘Eid’, is a time when family and friends give thanks to God and usually begins with morning communal prayers with people congregating in mosques and at community centres where Muslims wearing their finest clothes greet each other by saying ‘Eid Mubarak’, which is Arabic for “Blessed Eid”. Prayers are traditionally followed by a big meal where gifts are shared.

Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is an annual celebration of African-American culture that takes place from 26th December to the 1st January, culminating in a communal feast called Karamu, usually on the sixth day.

Families celebrating Kwanzaa decorate their homes with colourful objects and wear brightly coloured kaftans made from African cloth called kente, primarily in three colors: green (a symbol of Africa’s rich land and hope for the future), black (representing people of African descent), and red (which stands for their struggle).

At the centre of the celebration is the lighting of candles on the Kinara (a seven-stick candleholder) which is placed on a straw mat (mkeka), alongside a basket filled with fruits and vegetables (mazao), a communal cup (kikombe), and gifts (zawadi). Ears of corn (muhindi), one for every child in the family, are placed beneath the kinara. Kwanzaa celebrations often feature African drumming, dancing, and storytelling and, of course, a feast that may include black eyed peas and collard greens which are a type of large, leafy green vegetable

Buddhism

Buddhists do celebrate Christmas, but in a non-Christian way, focusing on helping the needy and giving back to others. On the 8th December Buddhists celebrate Bodhi Day, which is when Buddha achieved enlightenment beneath a bodhi (fig) tree. In many Buddhist homes a fig tree is decorated with lights to commemorate this event and a traditional meal of sweet, sticky rice will be eaten and heart shaped cookies are baked to symbolise and match the leaves of the fig tree.