Time stands still

Writing in the Yorkshire Evening Post, John Thorpe re-visits Malta after three decades and finds 'the charm hasn't faded':

..So what has changed in over three decades? Most of the roads I saw are still in poor shape and in need of repair although since Malta joined the EU there are huge signs dotted about the island informing anyone who bothers to read them that the European Union is funding this improvement, or that highway. They'll have their work cut of for decades such is the enormity of the task.

Many of Malta's buildings, especially in the countryside, look to abandoned and ready to fall down but they are in fact inhabited. They are though in need of major renovation. Indeed some that are in the capital, Valletta, also need attention. But that's part of this island's charm. There are some new buildings going up. A huge development on a headland across from Valletta is taking shape but it stands out like what Prince Charles might call a carbuncle..

One thing I noticed was all the green doors. Everywhere you looked the doors were painted green. Now whether they got a job lot from a paint company some years ago and are still using it up, or whether in this time-warp Frankie Vaughan's 50s hit was still topping the charts, I couldn't discover. But Malta has a certain charm because, to my mind, time has stood still for a lot longer than the 32 years since I last visited. Unlike many other destinations in the Med it hasn't been ravaged by greedy developers or ugly constructions. At least not yet.

You can see the stamp different civilisations have had on Malta in particular the Knights of St John who were mighty powerful. Every direction you look in Valletta you can see church spires and steeples. This is a very religious island and it shows. I always reckon you get a true perspective of a place from water so I took a harbour cruise from Sliema having crossed to this sort of Knightsbridge of the island on a ferry from Valletta. Competition is fierce for custom so walk along the Sliema foreshore and barter with those trying to coax you onboard one of the many vessels that cruise Malta's creeks..

There was a serenity about the place; an unhurriedness that is all too rare a quality these days yet at the same time there was a bustle, a buzz, too. And the people were well-dressed - you could spot the tourists a mile off. As for the food, well Malta has a culinary menu that reflects its position close to Europe and near to North Africa. And being an island, fish has to be the catch of the day any day..

This island is for the connoisseur who wants to live life in the slow lane for a week or two under clear blue skies amid ancient buildings and walk on streets that aren't littered with discarded fast-food boxes and empty beer cans and bottles. My hope is that Malta stays that way - an island paradise that looks after its visitors and doesn't rip them off. Oh, and all those years ago a navy launch picked me up and took me to Ark Royal that was sailing out of Grand Harbour in to the Med.