Carmen Gomez

The voice of a generation

“Are you the voice of a generation?” a question posed in a magazine to young aspiring writers, with the offer of the chance to work with some of the industry’s most esteemed editors. I have seen similar adverts put out locally, but with very few takers. In the old days in Gibraltar i.e. in the 60`s, from what I recall, there was a generation of young people eager to put their views forward and to engage in healthy debate about the state of affairs of their town and society in general.  Read more

The phrase “Due to Covid” covers a multitude of sins

CARMEN GOMEZ DIARY

On account of so much talk of how things are never going to be the same; of how we will have to do things differently; I find myself thinking back on times when one misbehaved as a child and was punished accordingly; something which makes us ask, what is it we did to deserve this?  Read more

Would it not be simpler and more humane if some of our questions were answered?

CARMEN GOMEZ DIARY

As the initial surge of help and helpers during the covid lockdown now blurs into a distant memory; that’s how fickle memory is; we find ourselves in a strange world. We recall having seen how the pandemic affected the rest of the world as we watched the death tolls. When I say we, I mean what has become to be termed as the golden hour brigade; you know, the over seventies; not the young; as they were busy making themselves useful to the community, and living life on their own wavelength; as youth dictates.  Read more

All of politics can be viewed as a series of trade offs

I have long insisted in my articles in matters to do with Brexit, that the question of the Fisheries is and has always been, both prevalent and of great importance to the discussions between the EU and the UK. Fishing rights are like gold dust! However it appears that the EU has without any reason given and at the last minute, shifted its stance from an expected offering of compromise, to a much more hard-line position.  Read more

The daily problems that upset people

The start of the summer made people get hot under the collar; but the temperature continues to rise, and since it is near impossible to get away from it all at present, who knows when any sign of respite will come our way to soothe the troubled brow. Men argue loudly in the street as if furious about something taking place but which is beyond their control. Read more

Carmen Gomez DIARY

Nothing comes free in life; not really!

A sign of how a pandemic is good for business. Designer face masks are being launched together with perfumed sanitising gels. Also you must have heard the phrase often enough “if it’s free it’s for me.” Read more

CARMEN GOMEZ DIARY

How we learn history and who we learn it from

I recall many years ago when there was an article written in the Spanish press around the moneyed families of Gibraltar who had apparently made their fortune from contraband; typical statements by a country like Spain that never looks at itself in the mirror. Recently in La Sexta they touched upon the debate of the statues or monuments that were being pulled down in the US, of Spanish slave traders. Read more

Gibraltar belongs to the Gibraltarians and let no one forget that

Trying to put Covid out of my mind these days is proving difficult as the world is intent in not allowing us to forget anything related to it in a hurry. One finds that everything else falls by the wayside, or becomes low key on the media’s news itinerary. Nevertheless, I find myself momentarily lost in my thoughts; when as a child sat on the warm sands of our levanter beach I would take pleasure in seeing the grains of sand slip through my fingers; unawares that I was not in charge of my destiny, yet feeling secure and content. Read more

THE JURY IS OUT

In 2006, voters were quite disenchanted with their political institutions and national parties. Some believed it was because governments seemed impotent in the face of global economic pressures. Read more

I do not understand what’s happening in my body

How many times have you heard yourself saying this? How many times have you realised after speaking with a doctor over the phone, something which appears to be the new norm - and maybe the way of the future - that he does not know either? After all, the human body still harbours many mysteries despite scientists having chartered every aspect of it. Read more