The Gibraltar Stories podcast is now seven months old, but it’s been with me for over a year now. Back in the middle of 2018 I first heard the news that this summer would mark the 50th anniversary of the closure of the frontier between Gibraltar and Spain and that commemoration events would be taking place to mark the occasion. In my former existence as a BBC Local Radio reporter, a story like that would be like a gift. There is so much to go at; the political history, the human stories, the long term impact of this action by a Spanish dictator. I simply had to do something about it.
My best bet, I thought, was to create a podcast about it. The flexibility offered by a podcast is that unlike a radio programme where you have to hit the news at a certain time, or restrict the length of the programme to an allotted time, you can take just as long as you like. You are able to let the material you have breathe. Some episodes are longer than others, it just depends on the amount of good quality material you have, and once I began recording the interviews for the Frontier Closure series, it became obvious that I had a LOT of good quality material from people from all walks of life.
The original Frontier gates on display in John Macintosh Hall, Gibraltar
Gibraltar Stories itself was launched back in January to get the podcast established before I launched into my Frontier Closure series and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and speaking to all my guests in episodes 1 to 16. During that time I got great support from the community and was even invited to speak at the annual Gib Talks event in February. That was the experience of a lifetime - and a long, long way out of my comfort zone! (I’m used to the solitary activity of speaking into a microphone in the isolation of a studio - or as is the case of Gibraltar Stories in a wardrobe - the prospect of standing on a stage and actually seeing the audience was a whole other ball game!). After my talk about why I wanted to tell peoples’ stories through the Gibraltar Stories podcast, I got some lovely feedback, which reassured me that I was doing the right thing. Thank you to everyone who spoke to me afterwards.
Gib Talks February 2019
As my research got going in earnest for the Frontier Closure episodes, I found that each interview threw up so many other additional threads which I hadn’t been expecting. One I did about the recruitment drive in Morocco to find workers to replace the Spanish labourers who had lost their jobs led me down the path of workers rights and equality. Another one I did with a woman who had been a young girl at the time of the closure revealed a shocking incident at the hands of the Spanish authorities during an emergency landing at Malaga airport years later. There was so much to go at, and I truly feel that I just scratched the surface of the stories I heard.
If you have had the chance to listen to any of the Frontier Closure series, I sincerely hope that you enjoyed listening to them as much as I did researching and editing them. Since I have started publishing them online I have had some lovely responses from Gibraltarians thanking me for recording this oral history. I simply didn’t have a choice. I was compelled to do it, and I have thoroughly enjoyed doing it.
Gibraltar Stories is taking a break over the rest of the summer, to give me the time to record some more interesting stories to tell you about this tiny and very special place. Thank you to everyone who has supported me on this journey so far - it’s been fun! I look forward to sharing some more Gibraltar Stories with you in the autumn.
Have a great summer!
Lindsay