Chapter 46: GibTalks

Have you heard of TED Talks? These are online videos, where influential speakers talk on subjects related to Technology, Entertainment, Design, hence TED Talks. Well Gibraltar has it's own version of this, GibTalks. GibTalks is an annual in-person event, that features Gibraltarian speakers. The subject matter is a bit wider and less academic than TED talks. GibTalks 2024 was on this weekend (in the John Mackintosh Hall, Gibraltar's equivalent of a town hall), so I went along.

TED Talks Gibraltar Style

There were a variety of talks throughout the day, but I was there to see a specific talk: 'A Different Side to Civil Marriage in Gibraltar', given by a former registrar. The casual reader may be asking, why would I be interested in such a talk? Basically working with registrars for 15 years has given me an interest in such matters. Whenever I would pass through different towns in Scotland, I'd always associate them with the registration office there. What can I say? I guess working for the same organisation for that long made me a bit nuts!

Gibraltar Registration Office - Exciting Stuff!

I'd already been in the Gibraltar registration office when I picked up my Civil Registration Card. As the office was so small, I wondered where the marriages would take place, as many Scottish registrars have a marriage venue within their offices. During this talk I would find out that many take place in the Gibraltar court building, a grand building at the end of Main Street. This seems ideal, as the building can't be used much for court cases due to Gibraltar thankfully having a low crime rate.

The Supreme Court of Gibraltar

Richard, the former registrar, told us how registrations used to be done in the police station (no jokes about marriage being a life sentence!). He also explained that the registrar doesn't actually marry the couple. It is the couple who marry one another in the presence of the registrar, and the registrar endorses on the marriage certificate "married before me", not married by me. However his talk wasn't just for registration nerds. He told us an amusing anecdote about one of his marriage ceremonies.

Would you like to get married here?

The bridegroom, Richard said, was the director of Costa Natura in Estepona, and the bride a resident there. The audience had a great laugh at this. Whatever the joke was passed me by. Maybe it was something to do with a Spanish couple getting married in Gibraltar, I thought. Richard then explained that Costa Natura is a nude resort, and he was afraid of what the couple would be wearing, or not wearing for that matter!

Not your usual wedding!

As it turned out, the couple turned up fully clothed. But he was quite worried about it for a while (no pun intended). I bet that's a problem Scottish registrars have never had to worry about!

Get married in an art gallery.

Update: Apparently my Mum was right. When we were in the art gallery in Chapter 33, she commented that it looked like one room was set up for weddings. The local media recently had an article confirming this.

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