Episode 005: Finding community online with Polly Lavarello

In this, the final episode of my first series of podcasts, I meet some of the people behind the Med Steps 5 Challenge and bring you some of the atmosphere of the day. The event which sees dozens of walkers and runners climb the Mediterranean Steps to the top of the Rock of Gibraltar 5 times raises much needed funds for the Cancer Relief Centre in Gibraltar. Did I manage to complete the challenge this year? For full show notes: https://postcardfromgibraltar.com/postcard-from-gibraltar-podcast/ Theme music: Happy Me by http://www.twisterium.com

The third annual Med Steps 5 Challenge is due to take place later this month. The Challenge sees teams and individuals climb the Med Steps to the top of the Rock of Gibraltar five times to raise much needed funds for the Cancer Relief Centre in Gibraltar. Last year, around 200 people took part and raised over £7,000 in the process. I caught up with one of the organisers, Steven Belilo at the start of the course. Care to join me? For full show notes: https://postcardfromgibraltar.com/postcard-from-gibraltar-podcast/ Theme music: Happy Me by http://www.twisterium.com

The lush green Alameda Botanical Gardens are the green lungs of Gibraltar. For a community where few people have gardens of their own, they are a valuable resource for all ages. The Alameda Gardening Club, which offers school aged children the chance to get their hands dirty and grow plants and vegetables, has launched a crowd funding project to build a BioDome. The group hopes to be able to expand what it does and offer Gibraltar's children an even better gardening experience. In this episode of the Postcard from Gibraltar Podcast, I met up with one of the education team's volunteers, Lucy Hart, and heard all about the exciting plans. For full show notes: https://postcardfromgibraltar.com/postcard-from-gibraltar-podcast/ Theme music: Happy Me by http://www.twisterium.com

Gibraltar is a unique place in so many ways. Despite being small, the people who live here come from many different backgrounds and different religious faiths, yet there is a great degree of religious tolerance. A think tank, called Understanding Gibraltar, has been set up to look at how the diverse communities here live together in peace and tolerance, with a view to perhaps exporting the 'Gibraltar model' elsewhere. In this episode of the Postcard from Gibraltar Podcast, I spoke to Joshua Lhote from Understanding Gibraltar to find out more about it. For full show notes: https://postcardfromgibraltar.com/postcard-from-gibraltar-podcast/ Theme music: Happy Me by http://www.twisterium.com

In this episode of the Postcard from Gibraltar Podcast I meet up with a man who put his career as a barrister on hold to follow his dreams. Aaron Seruya has always harboured the ambition to create an exhibition of his own art work. Next month we will see him achieve just that, when his Superhero Experience exhibition opens at the Fine Arts Gallery in Casemates Square. For full show notes: https://postcardfromgibraltar.com/postcard-from-gibraltar-podcast/ Theme music: Happy Me by http://www.twisterium.com

People are turning to their phones and tablets more and more these days to keep abreast of the news and find out what's happening in the world. In this episode of the Postcard from Gibraltar Podcast, I caught up with Giordano Durante, editor of the online news service Your Gibraltar TV to talk about this new age of news at our fingertips. For full show notes: https://postcardfromgibraltar.com/postcard-from-gibraltar-podcast/ Theme music: Happy Me by http://www.twisterium.com

** EDIT** (Technical issue with previous episode's show notes) Are you a fan of Manga or perhaps have harboured an obsession with comics since childhood? Are you fascinated by science fiction films or is table-top gaming your thing? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you are in for a treat very soon. The first ever Gibraltar International Comic Con will take place from 4th - 6th May this year and in this episode I met some of the event's organisers. Full show notes: https://postcardfromgibraltar.com/postcard-from-gibraltar-podcast/ Theme music: Happy Me by http://www.twisterium.com

Are you a fan of Manga or perhaps have harboured an obsession with comics since childhood? Are you fascinated by science fiction films or is table-top gaming your thing? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you are in for a treat very soon. The first ever Gibraltar International Comic Con will take place from 4th - 6th May this year and in this episode I met some of the event's organisers. Full show notes: http://postcardfromgibraltar.com/podcast Theme music: Happy Me by http://www.twisterium.com

In this episode of the Postcard from Gibraltar Podcast I catch up with Gibraltar based blogger and founding editor of parenting e-magazine Mum on the Rock: Polly Lavarello. Now in it's second year, Mum on the Rock offers an online community for parents and carers in Gibraltar. Full show notes: http://postcardfromgibraltar.com/podcast Theme music: Happy Me by http://www.twisterium.com

Gibraltar may be small, but it is such a creative place. This month on the Postcard from Gibraltar blog & podcast I'm casting the spotlight onto some of the amazingly talented people who call the Rock their home. Throughout February, in my 'Creative Gibraltar' series, I'll be talking to people from all sorts of creative backgrounds. In this episode of the Postcard from Gibraltar Podcast, I hear from writer and poet Rebecca Faller all about her latest book 'Renault Five'. For details about Renault Five and the rest of the Creative Gibraltar series, please see the show notes at https://postcardfromgibraltar.com/podcast Theme music: Happy Me by www.twisterium.com Why not follow @postcardfromgib on Twitter and Instagram?