The first to step this way was Neanderthal man ,conveniently leaving a skeleton behind . Then followed the full panoply of Mediterranean civilisations . The Greeks thought the rock marked the edge of the world , beyond which was a waterfall ; so needless to say they never ventured that way . The occupiers then oscillated between Moors and Spanish. ; until that is Admiral Sir George Rouke arrived in 1704 with his own fleet . 15,000 rounds of naval shot persuaded the city fathers that they were better off as the newest acquisition of the British Empire .
I wonder how a Security Council , if it had existed , would have viewed the legality of the move . Pax Britannia was the” law “ then , so Gibraltar became British . Viewed from Spain it is indeed an impressive , an incongruous piece of rock emerging from the sea; a perpetual irritant . Not surprisingly they want it back . Nowadays the owners ( UK inc ) insist that any decision must be taken democratically by the current ( British ) residents . A tax free environment , oh and that warship anchored in the bay , are the determining factors.
On holiday nearby , a visit is obligatory . Stepping into a tax free environment , with petrol less than 1.50 a litre a considerable draw. But first a visit to the top , aided by a cable car . However this one required the loss of an hour’ worth of shopping , such was the queue and ancient design . An adjacent queue ..e coughing and spluttering was the deciding factor : the ladies went shopping , and I decided to walk up .
First sustenance was required , so off to a British pub for Fish ( which was gigantic ) and chips …and a pint of London Pride . The pub , The Lord Nelson , harking but to an earlier visitor . Following Trafalgar, he was unfortunately encased in a barrel of brandy on his way to a state funeral in London . Following that pageant , the city fathers promptly forgot the debit they owned to the surviving mariners ; it fell to the ship’s captains to pay their crews out of their own pockets. As a postscript it is rumoured that not all the brandy reached the, UK . The crew enjoying a nip on the way home. This drink certainly having extra body ! It is still marketed today at 101% proof .
Suitable reinforced I set off upwards , alcoholic haze overcoming a bloated torso . My destination was the 40Km of tunnels constructed during WW2 to provide a safe haven for the Rock’s garrison . The electronic guide advised that 16,000 could have withstood a 12 month siege within those tunnels . Not for the claustrophobic . Nissan huts provided for sleeping quarters , complete with windows to overcome accompanying neurosis. A design promulgated by generals no doubt above ground elsewhere: the huts still had several hundred feet of rock above them . I can’t help feeling a better investment was the millions in gold surreptitiously paid the Franco’s generals not to enter the war.
The tunnels featured “ Jocks “ balcony giving a spectacular , and strategic , view over the approach road to Gibraltar. Nowadays that road is crossed by a runway ; or is it the road that crosses the runway . Anyway traffic lights warning of approaching planes . A surreal view of pedestrians and cars queuing for a gap in ( aviation ) traffic . My view timed for a takeoff of an executive jet . No doubt a resident of the Rock having spent millions on a flat , to avoid spending millions in tax elsewhere . There must be a big plus in that ; in my eyes the financial advantage would not compensate for Gibraltar’s ambiance : an ageing 50’s high street. But then I don't have those millions.
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