LIBERAL Democrat councillor Michael Allan travelled to Gibraltar to catch up with old friends and took time out to talk politics. Cllr Allan, who represents the Fordham villages on the district council, met Dr Joseph Garcia, the country s Liberal Party le

LIBERAL Democrat councillor Michael Allan travelled to Gibraltar to catch up with old friends and took time out to talk politics.

Cllr Allan, who represents the Fordham villages on the district council, met Dr Joseph Garcia, the country's Liberal Party leader.

They discussed the recent elections in Gibraltar and last May's East Cambridgeshire District Council elections and compared voting systems and campaigning methods.

The trip to Gibraltar was nostalgic for Cllr Allan, who served there as a corporal in the Royal Fusiliers in the 1960s.

Once a year he returns to catch up with friends and his meeting with Dr Garcia was featured in the Gibraltar Chronicle and on the country's Gibfocus website.

During his Army posting in the country, Cllr Allan got the opportunity to pursue his love of music and was even invited to play piano alongside guitarist William Gomez on national television.

He staged a number of musicals including The Sound of Music and The Boyfriend before leaving the Army for Cambridgeshire where he trained young musicians in Bassingbourn.

Cllr Allan said of his meeting with Dr Garcia: "I had met him briefly two or three years ago and I thought I would just go and say 'hi'.

"I was with him for about an hour. He is also the co-leader of the opposition party because in Gibraltar the Liberals and Labour work together against the Tories.

"I like to go back to Gibraltar once a year in the winter. When it's damp and cold over here, the weather is fine over there.