TV review: Gibraltar: Britain in the Sun
Gibraltar, that iconic piece of rock perched on the southern tip of Europe, just a few miles across the water from Africa, is one of the UK's smallest overseas territories, and is the focus of a fascinating new six-part series on Channel 5.
This new show explores the lives of residents and tourists living on the two-and-a-half mile square territory, which is home to 30,000 'Gibraltarians.'
Having visited Gib myself, I can honestly say it really is just like home, except with warm weather and shorter working hours – everyone goes home at 2.30pm between June and September.
The programme began by looking at the young lifeguards from Catalan Bay who make a nice little living telling off small children climbing on the rocks while getting a tan.
It's nice to know that while we are still wearing our winter coats and putting up our umbrellas, some of our fellow Brits are still able to enjoy the sunshine.
But it isn't always fun in the sun as we found out in last night's programme when a thick fog called the levanter, descended on Gibraltar.
When this happens, planes are not allowed to land, which caused problems for one happy couple looking to marry.
Every year hundreds of couples head to Gib to tie the knot to enjoy its golden sands and high seas.
Over the years it has seen its fair share of celebrity weddings including John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and Sean Connery has married on the rock not once, but twice. (Now call me old fashioned, but I would much rather have a traditional wedding in a church than on the beach).
After their plane was diverted to Malaga because of the bad weather, Australian couple Ken and Chrissie had to make a mad dash across town to get to the register office before it closed for the weekend.
Unfortunately they were too late after landing on Gib's runway, which is the shortest in the world, and had to postpone exchanging of their vows until the following day.
The island is home to a host of colourful characters, one of which is Doctor Eric Shaw, whose job it is to look after the 200 famous macaques who live there.
Every morning, 365 days a year, Dr Shaw is up at the crack of dawn to deliver breakfast to these monkeys, who insist on climbing all over his car and pinching his food.
The monkeys are a major tourist attraction in Gibraltar, but while they may look cute, they are a lot bigger and scarier than you think and if I remember right, they're not afraid to snatch a handful of peanuts out of your hand.
One thing I was surprised to learn while watching the programme was that Gib has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, which is perhaps why so many Brits decide to relocate there.
Perhaps the only thing that could put a dampener on life in Gibraltar is the frosty relationship with neighbouring Spain, which claims full sovereignty over the rock.
But that doesn't seem to worry the Gibraltarians, who say they wouldn't swap life on the rock for anything.
Tony Watkins set up his own diving company with business partner and diving instructor Shane Athey after sitting in his car feeling fed up on the M25.
He said: "Why do so many people come here? Simple, because this is home."
Charlotte Lilley
