Six years in Malta

Stuart Cobbe from Florida, USA lives in Sliema and blogs at studawg's space:

Well another summer past, another year in malta. I can't believe I've been here for 6 years already. I went to the roof of baystreet friday night, and it just brought back all those memories that have a double sense to them, of being an eternity ago, and yet only feel like being just yesterday. I remember being in middle school playing football with such idiots, and of friends lost and gone.

School starting, and it'll be the usual Verdala purge of the old and bringing of the new. I want to meet the new students, but I don't want to get attached to anyone; I leave in under two years for sure, and the last thing I want to do when I move to the states is bring baggage with me...I'm really scared, for once in my life. Scared of moving to the states, to a place where I know I'm happier, and scared I won't live up to both my own and other peoples expectations of me...

Transport twinning

eTwinning Training - Malta is a joint Blog by students from schools in Malta and Austria dealing with transport issues:

This is an eTwinning project that deals with this important aspect of daily life in Malta and in Austria. Since the dawn of time, getting people and commodities from one place to another has been an aspect of daily life that man has been concerned with. Students from our schools will work on the project collaboratively and investigate the several related issues in both countries. They met to decide together upon the most interesting areas, about the methods of collaboration and to compare their findings. eTwinning has given us the opportunity to work and learn together in a much more interesting manner.

Santa Marija vs Ta' Pinu

Il-Lanzita Blog by 'Michael Saints' throws light on local Gozitan rivalries and claims to expose the exploits of Gozo's aristocracy "li bhal fil-Medju Evu ghadhom jistghu jghaddu minn fuq kulhadd" From Santa Marija vs Ta'Pinu:

L-informaturi taghna qalu li l-Isqof, biex jiffranka l-inkwiet (u fl-eta' tieghu ma ntuhx tort) weghedhom li din is-sena ma ssirx, u t-tmexxija tal-Parrocca tal-Katidral, li hija msejsa fuq demokrazija u altruwizmu kbir, organizzat velja hi. Jidher li l-amministraturi Ta’ Pinu (bir-ragun) haduha gewwa hafna din il-haga kif jixhed dan ir-ritratt, li ara min jahseb li huwa mehud min-newsletter ‘Tal-Istilla’!! Min kiteb il-paragrafu ma tantx iddejjaq jiffirmah, u dan juri kemm certi nies issa ddejqu sal-ponta ta' mnehirhom b'dan l-atteggjament arroganti ponn aristokratici fost il-kleru li minghalihom qed imexxu bit-trirenju.

Toqghod tghid veru li tal-Istilla mqabbdin ma’ ta’ Ljun? Jew dawn tal-ahhar imqabbdin ma' kulhadd u ma jifilux imsarinhom f’zaqqhom ahseb u ara f'zaqq haddiehor?! Ir-Romblu jhoss li l-awtoritajiet ukoll ghandhom bzonn barxa tajba forsi iqumu min-naghsa helwa li jinsabu fiha. Li tiffranka l-inkwiet huwa haga qaddisa, izda lanqas huwa sew li l-poplu qed jiehu l-messagg li f’Ghawdex dejjem tghaddi ta’ min l-aktar li jghajjat, jirrikatta, jsabbat saqajh u jdejh mal-iskrivanija tal-Isqof, jahbat mal-koxox tal-bibien tal-Kurja, u jaghmel ir-rallies, ghandu jew m’ghandux ragun

A Maltese Falcon for the King of Spain

A Maltese falcon will once again be offered to the King of Spain at a Vittoriosa ceremony this Sunday. From TMIS:

The elaborate and colourful ceremony will commemorate the 475th anniversary of the cession of the island of Malta to the Knights of St John by Emperor Charles V on 24 March 1530. The Maltese falcon, on which the famous Humphrey Bogart film was based, is the bird which the Knights and the people of Malta sent every year to the Holy Roman Emperor and his descendants, the Kings of Spain, as a sign of their continuing fealty. The Maltese were subjects of Spain before the Knights came and continued being so even under the Knights..

A solemn High Mass of Thanksgiving (in Latin) will be sung at 9.45am and the falcon blessed, after which guests and visitors will leave the church for the nearby Main Square where a Maltese actor, representing Grand Master L’Isle Adam will hand over the falcon to the Spanish Chief Falconer. The ceremony will then proceed from the Main Square to the Vittoriosa waterfront where some of the guests and visitors will leave in dghajsas.

The next day, on Monday 5 September, the guests will visit the National Library in Valletta where they will be shown the authenticated copy of the original Charles V document cedeing Malta to the Order of St John, including the annual donation of a Maltese falcon as proof of the Maltese people’s continuing fealty to the Spanish Crown...

Probing Human Traffickers

Outlook India reports on the Malta Boat Tragedy Probe Mission that "will visit a number of European countries next month in connection with ongoing cases in courts there involving international human traffickers". From Outlook India:

..The External Affairs Ministry has also asked the Mission to build up public opinion in European nations for retrieval of remains of young men, perished in the boat tragedy, from the ocean. This was stated by Probe Commission Chairman Balwant Singh Khera here today. He said the Mission would seek the help of European governments and Indians settled there in this connection. Khera said the delegation would seek a meeting with Pope Joseph Ratzinger in Vatican and request him to extend all help in retrieving the remains of the deceased.

The Malta Boat Tragedy turned into a movie - with Majistral clarification

Please, a sense of perspective

Malta - Pakistan talks

Pakistan's Daily Times reports that the Pakistani foreign minister is on his way to Malta for meetings with government representatives. From Islamabad:

Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri will depart for Malta on Sunday on an official visit at the invitation of Maltese Foreign Minister Michael Frendo. The two leaders will discuss the forthcoming meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government to be held in Malta. Kasuri will discuss ways to strengthen economic ties and improve bilateral relations between the two countries. Kasuri will meet with President Edward Fenech-Adami and parliamentary leaders including the speaker of the House of Representatives. Malta will host the next Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting from 25 to 27 November, which will be preceded by a Foreign Ministers’ meeting on 23 and 24 November 2005.

What is CHOGM?

Podcasting project

Toni Sant has kept his promise about his ground breaking podcasting project. Following his four podcast tests, he has announced the first podcasting series in Maltese which will deal with the 9/11 New York terror attacks. From Toni Sant's blog:

The new series consists of 23 podcasts released daily starting tomorrow. You can hear an introduction to the series right now. A new file will be made available every day over the next three weeks and two days. The series starts with seven reports from the first week after the attacks in September 2001. A two-part interview with Dr Jesmond Schembri, who was Maltese Consul General in New York at that time, opens the post-trauma discussions, followed by a telephone account of life in Ridgewood, a small town in New Jersey, across the river from New York City, by Fr Ivan Sciberras..

Although most of the material in this series has already been available as webcasts through the MaltaMedia.com special features section since 2001, we feel that there's an added value to our listeners in presenting them as a series of podcasts. Besides, we are also starting the series with a newly recorded introduction, and I may even punctuate the series with a few new comments here and there...depending on the sort of feedback we get from our podcast listeners...

Podcasting a Maltese perspective on terror - Robert Micallef's Blog

Podcasting from Wikipedia; MaltaGirl's Podcast; Lost in Thought

Aussie Guide to Maltese people

Charmaine is a Maltese airhostess who lives in Sydney , Australia and blogs on MSN. This is her 'Guide to Maltese people':

*You don't have to have a Maltese backgroung to impress a Maltese family - *You should know that Popeye, Cutthroat Island, Gladiator & Troy were filmed in Malta - Maltesers were not invented in Malta - Maltese terriers were actually first bred in Malta - The Maltese cross is a throwback from the days of the Knights of Malta - the Maltese Falcon never existed in Malta - If you don't eat fish, hate swimming,Bet on Horses, soccer & Elvis and don't like fishing, you will have to find another way to impress a Maltese Dad.... GOODLUCK!!!! - If you are not good with dinner table manners a Maltese mum will be highly unamused- and above all, do not fart or burp any where near her... (unless you are close family) - Maltese do belive in the evil eye - NO point in having a debate on the merits of turning Jehovahs Witness, or Muslim, 99.9% of Maltese are Catholics. (the .1% were killed by there fathers!) - You won't need a translator, most Maltese speak english well, and you will never forget a Maltese accent - If you run your own business, a Maltese father-in-law will be very impressed - If you are invited to a Maltese gathering, get familar with the likes of gassatat, pastizzi, figolli, cannoli and my fav FENECK - If you are Catholic, but you weren't Confirmed & didn't do your Communion- DONT mention it! - Most Maltese take exception if you say "I've heard Malta is like Italy or Greece" frankly it ain't - If you are over 22 & not married a Maltese grandmother will think you must have some sort of physial problem or disease - If you don't understand how to gamble on horses, play bingo, or play poker, you won't get on a Maltese father-in-law good side - If you don't know what kinnie is... FIND OUT! - If you hate to talk, you better be good at listening - Expect to put on kilo at every Maltese gathering you have attended in any one year - Most Maltese Grandmothers think jeans are for poor people, so don't go prancing around in your $200 vintage Levi's! Most of all don't say they were $200! - Know your Maltese celebs.. Edward De Bono (lateral thinking), S2S (music), Joe Camillri (music), Darren Gauci (jockey) Sean Micallef (comedian) Kevin Muscat (soccer), Amber Valetta (model) & Jeff Fenech (boxer)

Archaeological Outdoor Museum

Dennis Siluk is an author and world traveller who is 'a lover of the mysteries around the world' . He visited the island after a suggestion by archeologist Charles Love and describes Malta as 'a paradise of archaeological wonders'. In this article for Useless Knowledge mag, he describes his Malta experience:

..I could go on and on about the many outdoor sites, Hagar Qim, Mnajdra Temples, Tarxien Temples, they are all over the place, but Malta itself is a kind of Citadel, or has one within its main city, like in Athens. I liked Athens, but besides its Acropolis, it can’t compare to the archeological wonders on Malta. If I had a choice to go back to Athens or Malta, it would be Malta in a heartbeat, no offence, it is just the truth. Athens has a known history which is glorious, Malta has a mysterious one, if you were to go back farther than 700 BC, which is a draw for me. I went to Athens, and three of their Islands in l995, because of Mary Renault’s great novels of the Greeks, and never regretted it. But back to Malta, there are so more artifacts there the mind could not digest them all.

More about Dennis Siluk, his books and his places of inspiration.

Rites of Passage blog - Athena in Cambridge

Try the Maltese

Following a visit by a friend from California, Ben and Jessica reflect about their experience in Malta. From Who's to Say:

She helped to confirm a lot of the things that Jessica and I have observed about life in Malta. We had a lot of long discussions and I think I’ve got a lot of thoughts I want to bounce around with y’all. I’d have posted sooner, but I was busy spending days snorkeling in the Blue Lagoon and evenings sitting in waterfront cafes. Ahh!

So… one thing that has become all the more evident over the last several weeks is a certain mindset of the males of Malta. Now I know it’s not a characteristic unique to the Maltese islands, but I do think it’s a tendency more of men than of women. The odd thing seems to be that it’s so annoyingly pervasive in this culture. It’s the underlying need to know everything, or at least to know something about everything...

But I am reminded yet again of one of the many amazing truths that my father has taught me, “Being right is over-rated.” It goes for marriages, friendships, and pretty much every relationship. I think if some of us men (not only those of Maltese descent) would spend more time genuinely listening instead of thinking about what we’re going to add to the conversation, people would feel a little more cared about...

Update from Ben and Jessica

In Malta with Ben and Jess - Wired Temples

Passion clothing

New blogger Mirane Vella goes shopping at Baystreet with fellow teenage bloggers Erika and Mark. From Much ado about nothing:

As the whole story goes, next Monday is my dad's birthday and both of us being avid F1 fans (supporting Ferrari of course) I had long since (since last year's birthday as a matter of fact) decided to buy him a Ferrari perfume. Only last year I had no idea from where I was supposed to buy the perfume, cause I had forgotten about the Grand Prix shop in Baystreet. Thankfully when I told my friends about my idea they immediately mentioned the shop, and so of course they were dragged along in my mini shopping spree. So me, Erika and Mark went along last Friday. Upon arriving at the shop...

'No Dominic no Tramps'

The brains behind one of the most popular Maltese bands ever to grace these islands died yesterday aged 55. Dominic Grech was the founder and lead singer of The Tramps, a Gozitan pop group that produced numerous hits including 'Ix-Xemx', 'Lilek irrid' and 'Għawdex Inti Djamant'. In his tribute, Pierre J Mejlak outlines the history of the band and the nostalgic tours amongst Maltese communities in North America and Australia. Joe Zammit, who played alongside Dominic Grech in the sixties, posted this comment on Mejlak's blog:

Barra li kont niltaqa' mieghu kull filghodu r-Rabat, lil Dumink kont ilni nafu minn zmien tfulietna. Kien dejjem jhewden biex jghaqqad grupp. Konna fl-ghaqda Zghazagh Haddiema Nsara u minn hemm huwa ghaqqad grupp vokali bl-isem The Rosebells. Kantajna l-ewwel darba fit-Teatru Aurora (il-qadim) fis-sena 1966. Wara transforma ruhu fi grupp strumentali GEMINI 5 u iktar tard THE TRAMPS. Kelli l-unur inkun wiehed minn dawk li hdimt, ovvjament, biex naraw l-ewwel grupp Popolari Ghawdxi gewwa l-Kanada, meta fil-MALTESE PROGRAMME FAN CLUB TA' TORONTO konna tellajna lil The Tramps hemmhekk ghal shows lill-emigranti. Huma kienu wkoll ghamlu diska 45 u kienu wkoll telghu Detroit.Il-memorji huma hafna... L-emigranti jilqghuhom b'hafna entuzjazmu....Dumink tat-Tramps kien pedina importanti ghall-muzika popolari li harget minn Ghawdex.

Malta Press Digest - August 18 to August 24

Wednesday24: From the International Herald Tribune, Gary Milhollin in Malta, writes about American concerns on Iran's nuclear programme; Bush - Gorbachev summit memorial needs maintenance; The recollections of a 1950s reporter; Alfred Sant says EU rules are creating new problems and disillusionment with EU membership has become widespread; MLP says Malta should buy Libyan oil at preferential rates; Malta does not yet have a global strategy against corruption, Council of Europe report says; From Central Minnesota's St Cloud Times, Malta Study Centre meets funding targets
Tuesday23: Government to introduce new measures on repatriation of illegal immigrants; Joe Vella Bonnici discusses the official pre-budget document; LeoBrincat on the government's weaknesses in news management; Il-Partit Laburista jsellem lill-ex-Prim Ministru Lord Gerald Strickland; The founder of the Tramps is dead
Monday22: BBC Wildlife magazine September issue focuses on Malta's illegal hunting; Lino Spiteri on the Gaza pull out; Marisa Micallef on Malta's Mars and Venus
Sunday21: 40% of Maltese citizens assess Malta's accession to EU positvely, 60% assess it negatively; Timely Malta conference of influenza specialists; Mediterranean sea-storm claims life of 24 illegal immigrants; Sunday Times special correspondent says that it is 'very doubtful that Europe is interested in stemming this flow of illegal immigrants'; Paul P. Borg on the dream of social history; Juan Ameen on the Maltese, sex and the net; Daphne Caruana Galizia on sky horror stories; The Maltese Bishops have nothing left to give and to say, says Lou Bondi; False competition and cooking the books by Alfred Mifsud; The wimps of Europe by Charles Flores; Sharon Ellul Bonici on the need to revive tourism; A government appointed chairperson questions the 'current mania in the PN or parts of government to centralise everything'; Salvador Dali’s book on Malta to be re-issued soon; BirdLife complaint trapped in bureaucracy; Josette Ciappara on the drama festival
Saturday20: AD criticizes the Government for sidelining rent law reform; Public Transport Association starts dismissing employees; Herman Grech asks whether Maltese are racist and xenophobic, and more by Ranier Fsadni; Ariadne Massa on 50 years of government information; J.G. Vassallo on transport shortcomings; Helena Dalli dwar hasil ta' l-imhuh
Friday19: Government calls on UNHCR for additional help and UNHCR voices concern on Malta remarks on FT; Malta should focus on specific sectors 'to make the best of EU accession', according to Malta Business Bureau; Marie-Claire Bonavia on the 20th world youth day; Zjara qasira ta' Mike Tyson f'Malta; Alfred Grixti dwar l-ghaqda fl-MLP; Daniela Attard Bezzina dwar l-ewwel passi fuq l-art Maltija
Thursday18: Malta President meets Queen Elizabeth at Balmoral Castle; From Cheshire Online, MDHC in running to operate Malta's Grand Docks system; Opposition leader’s visit in Australia continues; Sir Paul Judge to speak at Malta conference

Financing the Malta Study Center

A report on St Cloud Times of Central Minnesota states that The Hill Museum & Manuscript Library at St. John's University has met the target for the financing of its Malta Study Center. from The St Cloud Times:

The Hill Museum & Manuscript Library at St. John's University has met a fund-raising goal that keeps it in the running for a matching grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The NEH will provide $1 for every $4 raised by the HMML for its Malta Study Center as part of a four-year fundraising drive that began in August 2003. The NEH set fundraising benchmarks that the HMML had to meet in order to receive the matching funds.

The Malta Study Center collection at HMML contains more than 16,000 documents, dossiers of documents and a research collection of 800 books from Malta. It is one of a few libraries in the United States that actively collects books and other works about the history of Malta, and researches the role of Malta as a crossroads of the Christian and Muslim worlds. Malta, a former possession of Great Britain, is an island nation in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily. The $2.25 million endowment to HMML will fund a curatorial position, acquisitions, programming and preservation of rare manuscripts and documents related to Malta.

The Malta Study Center in the USA - from Wired Temples

Songwriting malaise

The open air concert at Cafe Duex Baronnes in Valletta organised by PoezijaPlus on the last week of July was a huge success. It featured singers/songwriters Vince Fabri, Mario Debono, Mark Spiteri Lucas, Rita Pace, Walter Micallef and Tony Grimaud. It is particularly pleasing to know that Tony Grimaud's much talked about comeback was not just a one off. His Bob Dylan style song writing was an intrinsic part of the Maltese youth cultural scene until the early eighties, an era vividly portrayed on Mikiel Galea's blog and on a forthcoming project by Toni Sant.

I hardly recognised Grimaud with his thick beard when I bumped into him near Msida circus a few days after that concert. He told me that he was planning to follow it up with other appearances. I missed the July concert but I definitely plan to be at Cafe Duex Baronnes this Wednesday at 8.30pm beneath the Valletta bastions. Grimaud will be making a solo appearance and will play old favourites as well as new songs.

Two interviews published by the Malta Independent discuss the current state of Maltese songwriting. Walter Micallef, who is working on a second CD release, says that Maltese songwriters are “a dying breed”. He laments the fact that many radio stations neglect Maltese music. His promoter Steve Borg, in another interview, says that the lack of official support for Maltese songwriting is 'symptomatic of a national malaise'. He suggests that it is necessary to create a structure which can 'produce or facilitate the issue of albums in the Maltese language'. From Sandra Aquilina's conversation with Steve Borg:

What is the value of calling ourselves patriotic if then we do not have the war songs in Maltese?” asks Mr Borg. “Or, for instance, the songs of the 1960s, during the politico-religious struggle. For instance, the Labour supporters had a song called L-Ghanja tas-Suffara and at the beginning of the 1980s, there was the birth of a movement of songs in protest against government – which have never been released – just like Professor Manwel Mifsud’s L-Ghanja tal-Liberta’. ”

There are other songs, says Mr Borg, which have never been released and are therefore in danger of being forgotten. He mentions songs by Albert Friggieri, Marija ta’ Wied il-Ghajn, which was written in the late 1960s, Hondoq ir-Rummien by George Cassola, Ahjar Niskot by Dr Marco Galea and even Vassalli, by Manwel Mifsud, in honour of Mikiel Anton Vassalli..

Music is by its very nature a fleeting ephemeral art; notes are destined to fade. Much has already been lost, says Mr Borg. “A few years ago I wanted to acquire Zaghzugh by Jo Naudi and Tony Scott, which was issued by the Moviment Zghazagh Partit Nazzjonalista (MZPN) in 1985. This was the Nationalist Party’s (PN) answer to Labour’s massive 1982 hit, Gensna. When I went to the PN headquarters to ask for it, they told me that I was mistaken and said they had never released anything by that name. I was furious. So the very party that had commissioned it – not only did not have a copy but had actually forgotten about it. What I am saying is that the country cannot have amnesia in what forms part of its musical history. There should be a structure which will listen to everyone.”..

The reasons why Malta lacks the necessary mechanisms are various, says Mr. Borg. One of the reasons could be, he says, that people with influence might not feel the cultural void, they do not always feel the pulse of the people. “They may even prefer to speak in English and most of the attention is given to festivals in that language. But where is the live music scene in Maltese in Malta?” he asks. “Not even Bendu Muscat – the Maltese version of Sherlock Holmes – the private detective, will find it!”...

Asian perspectives

London based Elaine spent four days in Malta last week with her friends. She blogged about it here with a colourful post and numerous photos. At the end of the holiday in 'sunny sultry Malta' she went 'back to rain, wretched weather, and work' in London. Some excerpts from Rambling Roads:

Across the bay, there was loud music playing and a crowd had gathered to watch adolescent girls doing the para-para to cheesy 80s music. We found out in our 4 days in Malta, that the whole country is hooked on 80s music! It's like they were stuck in a time warp, and all we heard was Debbie Gibson, Belinda Carlisle and other Mambo favourites...

It was more crowded tonight then the night before, but it was all 小妹妹 and 小弟弟!! 15 year old wannabes... sigh... But what to do, Uncle OHH wanna be happening, so we had to queue up for Axis (supposedly the longest surviving club in Malta), which served diluted drinks and had cannot-make-it dancers on the platform. After half and hour, Hils couldn't take it anymore and we left. At the exit, they didn't even have UV-ink! They "chopped" us with unsightly black ink... urgh...

Anyways... it was a really hot day - the blazing heat so draining, it just made me sleepy. After visiting the Rotunda (Parish Church of St John the Baptist) in Xewkija, the Ggantija Temples and Ta'Kola Windmill in Xaghra and the Citadella in Victoria Rabat, the taxi driver brought us to this place for lunch, and it seemed every taxi driver took their passengers there! Our driver mentioned something about it being owned by his friend's son or something...

..St Paul's Catacombs in Rabat, where the martyr St Agatha hid, while fleeing an amorous Sicilian governor. When she returned to Sicily, she was tortured by having her breasts sheared off and burnt on the stake. A gruesome painting depicting the torture scene hangs in her shrine in Medina...

Wimpish Diplomacy

In his regular column on the Malta Independent on Sunday, Charles Flores exposes one of the Government's weakest spots - its submissive attitude towards Europe. He calls it Wimpish Diplomacy:

Caught as we are, at least the majority of us, between a genuine concern for the plight of the hundreds of illegal immigrants trying to gain a foothold to build a new future in Europe, and the embarrassingly huge economic and logistical problem they have created here, the least we can afford is a government that takes a wimpish attitude with those who should already have provided us with the funds and the expertise to tackle the crisis...

We have overnight become the wimps of Europe. Yes, we are the smallest and the poorest by anyone’s standards, but it is the attitude of our elected representatives that unnerves even those who had genuinely and steadfastly believed that EU access would be the key to solving all our troubles and tribulations. Here we have the first real crisis since 1 May of last year, and instead of growling and biting into the rich texture of European muscle, the Maltese government remains with its head bowed and its tail limp in a state of utter submission.

I emphasise the role of government because the Maltese, as a politically conscious nation, have never been wimps. On the contrary, examples of Maltese one-upmanship in the annals of imperial and European history, even going back to the times preceding the Knights, are manifold and often recorded in official accounts of the period as well as in individual works such as Jan Morris’ Pax Brittanica trilogy and David Niven’s biographies. The Maltese have always been a politically astute race with a natural tendency for hard, sometimes garrulous bargaining...

Maltese Grapevines

The Northern Irish Press is still debating last week's disastrous performance in Malta of their national team. Maltese Grapevines from Sunday Life of the Belfast Telegraph:

It's not often BBC favourite Jackie Fullerton is stood up? But that's exactly what Lawrie Sanchez did after Wednesday's dismal draw in Malta. Under the terms of their contract with the IFA, for which they have paid thousands of pounds in licence payers' money, Sanchez is required to give a one minute 30 second interview shortly after the final whistle - however he stormed into the dressing room with the players and locked the door for 30 minutes. Producer and Jackie's 'fixer' Terry Smyth tried in vain to get Sanchez out before their transmission from the small Mediterranean island came to end. However, Jackie was forced to close the programme with his own personal thoughts on a shocking performance...

Home with the lizards

Caroline gave up her home and job in the UK and moved to Malta less than a year ago. She has blended well with her new surroundings, going to her village festa and learning Maltese. In this post she writes about her uninvited family lodgers at her home in St Paul's bay:

When I moved to Malta I was quite pleased to realise that they don't have the BIG black hairy spiders of which I'm terrified of back home......instead they have lizards.This wasn't a problem to start of with as the only ones I had seen were these cute little ones that ran along the ground. My son and I would look for them on the rocks on our morning trip to the shop. The problem has taken a turn for the worse...we have lodgers!!!! On our terrace, which we relax on in the evening, we have aquired 2 geccos or what ever they are called. These things are certainly not cute and linger in the shadows stuck to the wall. They are transparent with suckers on their feet which enable them to climb and hang around under the balcony above us. They appear from nowhere. I get this feeling of being watched, I turn my head and there they are, eyeing me up! Well a war is on now. I'm not having them take over my terrace....any suggestions?

6 things Caroline loves and hates about Malta

Back home after 73 years

Helen Pulé, who is now 86 years old, grew up in Malta and lived there until her early teens. She moved to Tunisia with her family when she was 14 and never came back. She returned to Malta after an amazing 73 years last week to attend the feast of St Helen’s in her native Birkirkara. She came to Malta with the assistance of the producers of 'Baqghu Maltin', a TV programme that features Maltese communities around the world. Gerald Fenech writes for the Malta Independent:

An 86-year-old woman, born in Malta, returned to her “homeland” this week after 73 years, still speaking the language pretty clearly, although she has spent practically all her life in Tunisia.This is the story of Helen Pulé, who returned to Malta last Thursday to attend the feast of St Helen’s in Birkirkara, which is being celebrated tomorrow. Birkirkara was Helen’s home town in her youth. Helen, who unfortunately lost one of her legs in an accident when she was only four, is cheerful, sprightly and charming, radiating life and the joy of living in every sense of the word...

I married my first husband in the 1930s but he died in the war in 1940. He left me with three children and so I had to fend for myself. Then I remarried and had three more children. Although I had some hardship, I can’t really grumble about life, as I have always found people to help me, considering my disability.”...

Helen’s father no longer wanted to live in Malta after she had her accident when she was four years old, but Helen definitely did not forget her homeland.“On Thursday I even managed to find the old house where we used to live in St Roque Street, where some of my relatives still live, and I hope to meet more of them in the next few days. I have very fond memories of St Helen’s church, as I was baptised there and also received my First Holy Communion and Confirmation too,” Helen explained. She recalls that her mother died in Tunisia, pining for her homeland and she also expressed the wish to be able to die here...

World Challenge

The World Challenge by BBC World & Newsweek is a competition aimed at 'finding individuals or groups from around the world who have shown enterprise and innovation at a grass roots level'. The competition rewards projects that can make a difference to local communities. The final 12 nominations have been announced and they include one project from Malta. The project aims to clean up the Maltese coastline by turning cooking fat into a diesel-substitute. You can vote here for the project. From the World Challenge site

Mediterranean cooking uses a lot of oil. And the millions of package tourists who double the population of the Western Mediterranean each summer expect to find fast-food outlets like those at home. But what happens to all that cooking fat? In the tiny 316 sq. km. island of Malta it clogs up the drains and eventually ends up in the sea. It's a huge problem and the authorities fear that it might put the tourists off visiting Malta. In 2004, Malta's largest producer of cooking fats and oils - the Edible Oil Company - came up with an elegant business solution.

The first diesel engines ran on peanut oil, so for Pippo Psaila - the company's owner - it was a case of back to the future with the launch of his biodiesel project. Instead of cooking oil going down the drains it would power specially converted diesel cars and lorries. Key to the project's success has been the establishment of an efficient collection system from restaurants and homes. Collection points are being established all over the island. The availability of biodiesel is helping the economy by reducing Malta's dependence on imported fossil fuels. And because biodiesel burns more cleanly than diesel, air pollution is also reduced. To encourage more buyers to opt for the cleaner fuel, the government of Malta has made biodiesel tax-free.

Avoiding reality

Deiform is a student hoping to enter university this year. He blogs about his recent trip to Malta. From Avoiding Reality:

I’m talking about the sun, not the police here so sorry if you got the wrong idea. Recently I took an excursion out into the small island of Malta where I lived as a ‘wild man’ for 14 days and nights. When I say wild man, I mean I ran around with a sense of worthlessness and self-pity with thoughts of contemplation and shit. Didn’t really do much except wander around and take long bus rides into the nether-regions of the island and talk to strong accented Scottish people….

Can't fault Malta

You just can't fault Malta , writes Ben Rankin on the Daily Mirror:

Size doesn't matter and Malta, a tiny speck floating in the Mediterranean, home to just 400,000 inhabitants, proves it. The small island's population trebles with the annual influx of tourists - but if it's a big holiday you're after, it's well worth a visit. Thousands of Britons are among those who make the trip every year and it's easy to see why. Just a two-and-a-half hour flight from the UK, Malta is easy to reach. You're skimming the limestone rooftops of its houses before you've finished reading the in-flight magazine. The climate, hot and dry summers and mild winters, makes it an ideal year-round destination. The sun is so reliable that visitors can lie on the beach soaking up the rays or splash in the warm waters of the Med until late October..

Just living

Yatz is back from a trip to Malta and blogs about it here:

Just returned from a 3 days trip to Malta. This job certainly has its perks. It was like a free weekend trip. Too bad Sharky was filming over the weekend, else he could have join me. It could have been better. Perfect weather-sun and breeze with clear blue sea. Malta has its charms. Due to the summer holidays, loads of teens out in the streets partying, starting as early as 7.30pm. Clubs were already full in action. Walked the streets of Valetta, the capital town of Malta. It's really a mixture of Greece, Italy and Arabic. The highlight of the trip was our catamaran ride...

Out of jail

Malta is not a lucky country for Lawrie Sanchez, Northern Ireland's national football coach. When still a player, he played for his country in Malta, was substituted and never selected again for the national team. Sixteen years later, he returns as national coach to Malta and only just avoided an embarassing defeat thanks to a last minute missed penalty and an excellent display by Malta. Stuart McKinley in Malta writes for the Belfast Telegraph before the game:

When Northern Ireland last played in Malta in October 2001, Lawrie Sanchez was still in charge of Wycombe Wanderers in the Second Division. He was still almost two-and-a-half years away from becoming the international manager, but he is quite familiar with the Mediterranean island. The last of his three appearances in a green shirt came here in a 2-0 win in April 1989 and even 16 years on, Sanchez looks back on his international career as being much too short.

"The last time I was in Malta I played 70 minutes, was substituted and then was never seen again," he said. "I had been in the team for the previous game against Spain and I felt that I had played well that night. "I thought that I had an okay game against Malta but was then taken off and it frustrated me that I wasn't called up after that." Sanchez's international career lasted only three games, from his debut in November 1986 in Turkey to that Malta game..

And Stuart McKinley after the game.

More about the Malta-N.Ireland 1-1 draw from MaltaFootball.com

Battlefield Malta

A new Microsoft computer game features Malta as a battlefield with the Knights of Malta fighting the invasion of the Ottoman Turks. From Underground Online:

The first campaign begins on the island of Malta, where the local inhabitants - appropriately christened the Knights of Malta - are fighting off an invasion from the Ottoman Turks. The player enters in the role of Morgan, who must lead his troops against the Turkish commander, Sahin. In a new gameplay feature that harkens back to the unique units of Age of Mythology, AOE3 puts characters like Morgan into the game, where they act as supercharged characters that will resurrect themselves after death. The story progresses from Malta to the Caribbean and finally to the Americas, where groups like the Spanish and even pirates are introduced and fought against...

Hands on impressions of the fight for the New World - Age of Empires III by Steve Butts

Hgejjeg

The Hgejjeg blog is one of the most creative Maltese blogs on the blogosphere. In this long post, the writer discusses his background and explains how and when he discovered blogging. From Kelmtejn qabel immorru:

Din il-biċċa xogħol ta' l-ibloggar kienet xi ħaga li, għal bosta raġunijiet, minn dejjem kont noħlom biha. L-idea li tkun parti minn netwerk vast ta' individwi minn kull rokna ta' "l-misħut globu" minn dejjem saħħritni. Mhux biss minħabba li l-blogg hu mezz ta' espressjoni u komunikazzjoni tassew ħieles u sa ċertu punt, anke bla fruntieri, iżda wkoll għax kapaċi jgħaqqad flimkien bosta mħuħ f'proċess kontinwu tassew intriganti ta' qsim ta' esperjenzi u ideat..

L-iżjed wieħed li nsegwi fost dawn hu dak ta' Immanuel Mifsud, li permezz ta' bloggtu, wara seba' snin eżilju, issa stabbilejt miegħu mill-ġdid xi forma ta' kuntatt frekwenti. Minkejja li dan il-kuntatt huwa biss virtwali, it-tgedwid tiegħu jibbastani tajjeb ħafna biex nitfakkar mill-ġdid f'dawk l-għomeliji dwar il-poeta Malti favorit tiegħi Achille Mizzi. Immanuel Mifsud kien wieħed mill-iżjed persuni influwenti f'ħajti..

Blogg ieħor li nsegwi ta' spiss huwa t-Tempji Mqabbda ta' Robert Micallef, li minn hawn nirringrazzjah ħafna talli x-xahar li għadda għoġbu jżejjen lil bloggti bi tliet premji Roberts. L-inizjattiva ta' Robert, li jwettaqha b'dedikazzjoni sfiqa, forsi nistgħu nsejjħulha meta-bloggar, għax il-prodott aħħari tagħha huwa blogg dwar il-bloggs. U apparti dan, ma rridux ninsew il-listi eżawrenti tiegħu dwar dak li tajjeb jew ħażin, ikun qiegħed jitħarbex ta' kull ġimgħa fil-ġurnali rikki lokali tagħna..

Imbagħad hemm il-blogg ta' Twanny, li huwa poeta, lingwista u traduttur mustaċċun. Il-blogg tiegħu nqisu bħala tribut mimli mħabba lejn l-ilsien Malti f'sens wiesa', tant li fih issib tagħrif dwar il-lingwa Maltija li ma ssibux f'sorsi oħrajn kif ġieb u laħaq. Dan l-aħħar kelli x-xorti niltaqa' miegħu xi darbtejn. Minkejja l-merti akkademiċi tal-blogg ta' Twanny, l-iżjed ħaġa li tolqotni fi Twanny hu Twanny inniffsu, li f'moħħi spiss nassoċjah man-nom "tjieba"..

U fl-aħħar ma rridx ninsa nsemmi Ħġejjeġ, il-blogg ta' l-Imżebbel… il-Pulċinell ta' Ġeżebel u x'naf jien, li frankament ormai qtajt qalbi nsiblu rkaptu. Dan daqqa jitfalna xi poeżija, daqqa xi dramm sovversiv u nejjieki li lanqas l-iżjed teatrant m'aħniex ma jazzarda jtella', daqqa joħroġ b'xi ħamallata, daqqa jsabbat jew jgħolli mas-sema xi artist, daqqa jispekula dwar il-Bniedem il-Ġdid tas-Seklu Wieħed u Għoxrin, u sejrin...

Kurat Gybexi has set up a forum at BloggsMaltin as a platform for technical discussions amongst Maltese bloggers

Weekly Press Digest - august 11 to august 17

Wednesday17: Austin Gatt's sharp rebuke for his cabinet colleagues, the film commissioner and the Times editor; The female participation in the labour market is way below the European average; Bus strike continues; Jixtru biljetti ghall-lotterija super 5 flok jixtru mill-hwienet
Tuesday16: Kevin Aquilina writes about the need for a Freedom of Information Act; Mario Azzopardi featured in Mediterranean literary project; Henry Brincat talks to Maltese snooker champion Alex Borg; Government publishes Council of Europe report on detention centres; Austin Sammut asks when we will stop messing things up; From Cheshire Online, MDHC in running to operate Malta Dockyards
Monday15: The Maltese islands celebrate the feast of Santa Maria; MLP leaders conclude visit to Sydney, Australia after a number of cultural events and visits to Maltese owned companies;
Ta’ Cenc landowners deny intentions of golf course land development; Marisa Micallef says that we must find 'the middle way between the pious and the racist'; Minister intervenes to stop publication of interview with Film Commissioner, Times editorial; Natalino Fenech interviews Peppi Azzoppardi; Ahna qeghdin jew mhux qeghdin fl-Unjoni Ewropea, isaqsi Dun Ang Seychell; Joe Mifsud jirrifletti dwar vakanza fit-Tunezija; Charles Flores jaghti harsa lejn il-qaghda tar-radju f’Malta
Sunday14: The European Movement states that Malta joined the European Union to end its isolation but now "Malta acts as if it is oblivious to what it was saying just a couple of years ago"; RyanAir to reopen negotiations with the Maltese authorities and Malta International Airport; Colonel Gaddafi to visit Malta; Sunday Times publishes racism survey conclusions; Pamela Hansen on noise pollution; Richard A. Matrenza shares his observations on CHOGM 2005; SPMC students visit Germany; A Maltese qualifications framework for a knowledge-based economy, by James Calleja; Karl Schembri exposes the bus ticketing fiasco; Matthew Vella interviews AFM Commander Carmel Vassallo
Saturday13: Malta not compliant with EU electronic waste directive; Labour leader indicates support for the right to Maltese citizenship for Australian citizens of Maltese descent; JG Vassallo writes about Malta's Potemkin syndrome; Adrian Vassallo on stemming the erosion of values; Il-popolazzjoni taz-zghazagh tkompli tonqos; Il-prospetti li l-Partit Laburista jirbah l-elezzjoni generali li jmiss jidhru tajbin, jghid Wenzu Mintoff
Friday12: Public transport continues strike actions; A European Citizen Action Service (ECAS) reports shows that migration between old and new EU member states is below the 1% increase forecast at the time of enlargement; No emergency funds at EU level to help the Maltese government combat the illegal immigrants crisis
Thursday11: Stalemate between Government and GWU over Interprint controversy; Daphne Caruana Galizia on restaurant angst and the Maltese race; Over 90 per cent of respondents to Times online poll say that Malta should take unilateral action to halt the influx of illegal immigrants while Deputy Prime Minister laments EU sluggishness; Ranier Fsadni and Leo Brincat on the death of Robin Cook; Vanessa Mcdonald interviews Sue Vella, the new CEO at ETC

Robert Micallef's Blog

My new personal blog is now up and running. Wired Temples will continue on a daily basis as a platform for Malta related information on the web with the usual features including the Weekly Press Digest, the monthly Top Ten Maltese blog posts and other new upcoming items. My comments, thoughts and opinions will be channelled via my personal blog. Although the new blog will be a more private space, it will also have a wider focus on politics, media, culture, technology and international affairs. I hope that it will help foster debate, serve as an exchange of links, thoughts, and information and also encourage more people to set up their own blogs.

A tribute in London for Maltese heroes

Caroline Davies, writing for the Daily Telegraph, says that it was 'a pivotal moment for the Allies, yet for more than 60 years no national memorial existed in Britain to commemorate the Siege of Malta'. A monument in London has just been erected as a tribute to those who died defending Malta during Pedestal's five-day battle, which ended as the Santa Maria convoy entered the Grand Harbour of Valletta on Aug 15, 1942. From the online Telegraph:

Malta, then part of the British Empire, was strategically crucial, lying alone in a hostile Mediterranean, 800 miles from its nearest allies in Gibraltar and Alexandria. If it fell, North Africa was likely to follow. For three years it was the fulcrum on which the fate of war was balanced. More than 7,000 civilians and servicemen and women died during the siege, which saw Malta sustain some of the worst bombing of the war.

In Malta, those lost defending the island are commemorated by the Siege Bell, a granite memorial unveiled by the Queen in 1992. Yet, despite the numbers of British military involved, no national memorial had been erected in Britain until now. The memorial, which stands outside All Hallows church near the Tower of London, was the idea of Fred Jewett, now 82, who served as an able seaman in the destroyer Ashanti, escorting the supply ships on Operation Pedestal...

After a five-day running battle, the convoy's four surviving merchant vessels and the tanker Ohio - carrying precious fuel, heavily damaged from seven direct hits, and under tow - arrived at Valletta. The siege was broken and within months North Africa was retaken. "The memorial honours all those who gave their lives defending Malta and it will provide a lasting recognition and focus for everyone who participated during the siege," said Mr Lewin.

Memorial to veterans - Guardian

Nanotech gap

TNT log is a blog that concentrates on news about nanotechnology from a global perspective. This post comments about the lack of nanotechnology infrastructure in Malta:

Here’s an interesting headline reported in the Malta Independent “ No nanotechnology infrastructure found in Malta.” Malta is not alone, apparently according to NanoForum, “no nanotechnology infrastructures or networks have been found in Malta, Croatia, Cyprus, Iceland, Slovakia and Liechtenstein.” We cannot comment on the rest of the list, but based on our experience of a few days as guests of the Icelandic nanotech community, the relatively small population of Iceland, and the concentration of most of the population in Reykjavik obviates the need for a for a network as everyone already knows everyone who matters and no one is more than a fifteen minute drive away. Presumably the same applies to Liechtenstein and Malta?

NanoTechnology Now; Foresight Nanotech Institute
A blank Czech for Nanotech

Maltese shark plea

Dive South Africa is a Pretoria based blog dedicated to news and articles relating to scuba diving, shark attacks, marine and environmental issues in South Africa and around the world. This post discusses sharks around Malta:

Sharks whose main prey is tuna will follow tuna, so a few years back, when tuna-farming was not practised, tuna migrated past the Maltese Islands every year and sharks followed. So whether it is tuna in a farm or tuna in the wild, sharks will be there. In fact, it was reported that the shortfin mako was trapped in the tuna fishing lines, chasing wild tuna..

If sharks were removed from their ecosystem around the Maltese Islands, the effect could be to create an imbalance in the numbers of the species upon which they feed. This imbalance could in turn negatively affect the availability of food and other resources all the way down the food chain which could eventually threaten commercial fishing. For example, octopuses eat lobsters and sharks eat octopuses. A declining number of sharks could not control the octopuses eating the lobsters... and if that does not worry you, maybe this will. Sharks are immune to most diseases, including cancer, and are the subject of intense medical research that could one day benefit man..

Nature Trust (Malta) is embarking on a Shark, Skate and Ray Identification programme that will assist scientists and conservation groups, to determine whether or not some species require protection. More information from: info@naturetrustmalta.org

SharkTrust.org

Taking censorship to the extreme?

In a bizarre turn of events, a prominent member of the Maltese Government has forced the Times of Malta to withdraw an interview with Malta's Film Commissioner that was due for publication today. Minister Austin Gatt, who has a portfolio covering investments, industry and technology, forcefully intervened to ensure that an interview with Film Commissioner Oliver Mallia remains unpublished. Austin Gatt had suggested that he should have been the one interviewed by the Times since he is the person ultimately responsible for policy in the sector. The Malta Film Commission is responsible for promoting and developing Malta's film industry. The editor of the Times today publishes an email exchange with a ministry representative that throws alarming light on the government's approach to media freedom. The ministry stated that the film commissioner "is appointed and removed by the minister" and that "the whole essence of the matter is the importance that questions are put to the right people and answered by the right people". From today's Times:

An interview with Film Commissioner Oliver Mallia, which was scheduled to appear on The Times today, will not be published following the intervention of the Ministry of IT and Public Investments, under whose wing the Film Commission falls. A journalist of The Times asked Mr Mallia for an interview some weeks back and this was eventually held. An advance copy of the write-up was submitted to Mr Mallia on Wednesday and he informed the journalist he would in turn pass a copy over to the ministry. Subsequently, a ministry official contacted the journalist and, among other things, offered her an interview with the minister, an offer the journalist did not deem appropriate and which she therefore politely refused. The official also asked the journalist to meet him but again she refused saying she would report the matter to the editor of The Times...

In the meantime, the journalist who had conducted the interview received an e-mail from Mr Mallia saying: "I regret to inform you that I did not attain the necessary approval from the ministry for (the interview's) publication. "Kindly refer any questions regarding the Malta Film Commission to the Ministry for Investment, Industry and Information Technology. Apologies for any inconvenience caused." In the circumstances, the editor sent an e-mail to Claudio Grech, head of the minister's secretariat, saying: "The Times has just been informed that an interview it conducted with the Film Commissioner and scheduled for publication this coming Monday cannot be carried as he 'did not attain the necessary approval from the ministry for its publication'...

The Times editor then made the following point: "Once again thank you for your replies. But I do have something else to ask, in order to avoid misunderstandings. "1) Do your guidelines make it compulsory on all staff, from top to bottom, falling under the ministry to seek the ministry's approval prior to speaking to the press? "2) You say the press is free to speak to whoever it wishes. We decided to speak to the Film Commissioner. So why did the ministry insist the interview should not appear? "3) You also say that 'The ministry is neither objecting to parts nor to all of the interview', so why is the ministry objecting that it is published? If it is a matter of violating internal rules and regulations, don't you think that is a matter of internal affairs and should be treated as such?"...

Films made in Malta

Sue Moorcroft

In a letter to the Times, Tom A Restall takes the cue from an article by Lino Spiteri to recommend a new novel by Sue Moorcroft. According to her website, Moorcroft was born near Moenchengladbach in Germany but was brought up in Cyprus and Malta. She says that Malta is her "favourite place in the world." Her new novel Uphill all the Way was published earlier this year by Transita and is mostly set in Malta. From the letter by Restall:

It was interesting to read Lino Spiteri's Wide Angle (The Sunday Times, August 7) in which he mentioned renowned authors who visited or lived in Malta and then wrote about our motherland. Mr Spiteri, whom I admire as a person and author, stated: "Today's mix seems to have lost much of the allure of authors." This perhaps is fair comment insofar as foreigners who have made Malta their home. However, there are several authors who have mentioned Malta in their work or who have written books with a Maltese background. One such author is Sue Moorcroft, who may still be relatively unknown in Malta.

Transita published Sue's first novel Uphill all the way earlier this year. Ms Moorcroft was born in Germany and spent much of her childhood in Cyprus and Malta. A good part of her first novel is set in Malta - Sue believes that the next best thing to being in Malta is writing about it. I met Sue through the Malta Global Friends Website and know how much she loves Malta. To give an authentic account of the Maltese environment, Sue came to Malta on several occasions visiting sites and meeting people. During her last visit, I was surprised that she wanted to visit the Addolorata Cemetery, of all places. Having now read her book, I understand why. She showed her love for Malta and the Maltese enthusiastically in her novel.

In this interview with Mike Atherton for the Great Writing website, SueMoorcroft explains:

I had to focus hard after that because I had about ten working weeks to write what was missing - about 40,000 words, I think. I had a week in Malta booked, and about 40% of Uphill All the Way happens in Malta, my childhood home. It was terribly useful for research, but as I was leaving I discovered that some fool had made a big alteration to Malta International Airport, which meant my final scene would no longer work! I had a meeting with my agent the next morning to discuss final edits, but now I had to rewrite the ending as well. I had twelve days left. But I did it. And if you had a publishing contract depending upon it, you would, too!

Malta locations for Uphill all the Way

Toni Sant's autobiography

In his latest post, Toni Sant gives us a sample of a fascinating autobiographical project he is currently working on. In this excerpt, he recalls a meeting fifteen years ago with Immanuel ( getting married this weekend - heartfelt best wishes ) on the rooftop of my late grandfather's hotel in Sliema. As Toni indicates, my grandfather Krispin Mangion was quite a a character. In-nannu Krispin attributed his visions, dreams and grand projects to his many years as a close personal associate of Dun Gorg Preca. In the fifties he was a parliamentary candidate for the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a conservative and business oriented party led by Dr Joseph Hyzler that elected four members of parliament in the 1950 general election. The Savoy Hotel was refurbished some years ago and is now run as a guesthouse by his two daughters. One of them is my mother Josephine who is a regular reader of Toni's blog. From Toni Sant's blog:

About fifteen years ago, as the 1980s started to turn into the 1990s, my brother and I stood on the roof of the Savoy Hotel in Sliema with two women. I don't recall how and why we came to be there that Sunday morning. All I know is that we were there thanks to Robert Micallef, whose grandfather Krispin owned the hotel at that time. Krispin was one of the most interesting Maltese eccentrics I've ever met. During this visit to the Savoy Hotel he showed us his plan for an enormous religious monument he wanted to erect above the city of Valletta. An impossible project from the mind of an extraordinary visionary man. Krispin's monument could certainly have made the shortlist for the McMartha Award, Franklin Furnace's answer to the "genius grants" given out by the Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation.

As we stood perched on the edge of the hotel roof looking at the fabulous view of Marsamxett Harbour, Manuel and I struck up a conversation about the women who were with us that morning...

More recollections by Toni Sant on Immanuel's blog:

Ma' Patrick kont bqajt indoqq anke wara li spiċċajna mit-Time. Kellna grupp jismu Clockwork Wizards, imma qatt ma ħrigna fil-pubbliku u għandi recording ta' rehearsal, pero naħseb Patrick kien ġie tard dak in-nhar. Naħseb li Alex Fenech, li kien idoqq id-drums u l-bass (!) mal-Wizards, għandu recording ta' rehearsal ohra li tinkludi lil Patrick. Wara dak iż-żmien kont narah darba kull tant għax ommu kienet taħdem bħala radio announcer Xandir Malta meta kont naħdem hemm jien...

Toni Sant's website

Bird views of Malta

Catherine Maubert writes for TMIS about Fabrice H, a French photographer from Brittany, who is in Malta for a week to take photographs of the island’s landscapes and environment for a publication due next year:

The book is going to be called Bird views of Malta and this is why I needed special equipment,” he explains. Indeed, Fabrice H is using a new technology consisting of a helium balloon to shoot the aerial views so that “the photo looks like what a bird would see,” Fabrice says

On Tuesday, Fabrice H went to the blue lagoon in Comino to start shooting his aerial view from there, ‘The result has nothing to do with what I could have achieved from a helicopter because, with the photo balloon, we are lower,” Fabrice insists. The other result is that he and his crew are far from being unnoticed: “We created the day’s animation on the beach! Everyone was coming to ask us what we were doing,” he laughs.

“Every time I come to Malta I like it more” Actually, it isn’t Fabrice’s first visit to Malta. He came last year to work on a photographic book about Malta – the Portfolio île de Malte was published in January 2005 – and has now come back for the future bird views book. “I have been to Malta four times now and the more I come here, the more I like the island; there are so many things to discover here,” he says. The fact that he and his team are always warmly welcomed is also a good reason to come back...

Fabrice sure does not lack ideas and imagination, but for the moment he only hopes he manages to get the 30 pictures of Malta he has planned to photograph before he leaves. He has already decided to come back in April “to take more colourful pictures this time… I could even come here for real holiday once in a while!” he laughs.

Fabrice H - Galerie

Fishing in Malta

The Aquatica site provides an introduction to fishing in Malta. This piece captures the spirit of both shore and boat fishing which "are practiced all year round and often offer rewarding captures."From Aquatica:

The best season generally is in late summer (September), when the water tempreture rises and shoals of pelagic fish such as Garfish, Dorado, Amberjack, and Little Tuna come close to the shore. Depending on where and when one can practice loads of different angling techniques. Rock fishing, beach ledgering, spinnig, float fishing just to mention a few. Generally many choose to relax along the sea side in shelterd bays or on the many piers along the shore line and enjoy a few hours of light tackle fishing.

The Maltese waters host a large variety of fish and underwater fauna. When fishing from shore it is easy to catch various bottom dwelling species such as Bream, Wrasse, Comber, Mullet, Parrotfish and much more. A soft to medium action telescopic casting rod fitted with a medium spinning reel filled up with 6kg (10lbs) breaking strain monofilament line is the ideal choice for light tackle fishing. Bait is another essential part in order to get a few fish in your landing net...

Having the opportunity of fishing from a boat will increase your chances of catching bigger species... Even very close to the shore it is possible to come across Barracuda, Little Tunny or Amberjack especially in the early morning hours or just before dawn. When the sea is flat calm it is also possible to sea shoals of little sardine gathered close to the surface being attacked by bigger fish and making it look like rain hitting the water...

Traditional Maltese Fishing; Fishing Regulations in Malta; The Federation of Maltese Fishing Enthusiasts; On the shores of the sea by Sandra Aquilina; Joe Borg from Malta is the European Commissioner in charge of Fisheries;

Namlessom's stories

Jorn M came to Malta from the Netherlands to study English and is blogging about his stay on the island. In this piece he writes about snorkelling with his American friend at Golden Bay:

..Whe agreed to snorkel together so it would be saver and we could snorkel further away from the coast. We alerted each other if there was a jellyfish or something remarkable. The 41-year old man could snorkel very well, he dived very rappidly and came up again with a small ordinary stone. While he dived he kept his snorkling-pipe in his mouth. Everytime when I tried that a lot of seawater came into my mouth so I had to go up immediately to spit out the water. Every five minutes we interuppted snorkling and talked a little bit. He told me that he was an American, how surprisingly, who lived on Malta. He asked me if I had tried the typical maltese cheese. On the day before during my Gozo trip (one of the three islands of Malta) I had tried the typical maltese cheese during lunch. In my opion it's just only slightly different from the Italian Mozerella, but it was delicious indeed.

After an other 30 minutes snorkling I was getting cold, the first time on Malta, so I returned. Before I went out of the water I had to cross the dirty seaweed again. With the book 'Pappilion' in my mind I observerd the waves to see if there was a possibilty to jump over the seaweed. After one minute I gave up and reached at my beach towel with dirty legs. The rest of the afternoon I didn't swim anymore because my throat was irritating of all the seawater I had swallowed. So I decided to start in one of the six books I had brought to Malta: Catch-22. After reading the first two sentences: "It was love at first sight. The first time Yosserian saw the chaplain he fell madly in love with him." I became a big fan of Yosserian, the principal character of the book.

A Monumental Mandate

Archeology is the publication of the Archeological Institute of America. A recent edition featured an article about Malta by Mark Rose with photographs by Andrew Lowell Slayman. From Archeology:

The paradox of the Maltese archipelago--five islands lying in the Mediterranean 60 miles south of Sicily--is how so much cultural heritage came to be packed into such a small area. This nation's vast heritage has been recognized for centuries. En route to Egypt at the behest of King Louis XVI of France, Charles Sonninni stopped at the islands in 1777 and made the following observation, "Before the island of Malta became the domain of the Brotherhood of St. John of Jerusalem, it had passed successively into the hands of several potentates. From the Carthaginians down to the Arabs it underwent a frequent change of masters; the vestiges of antiquity in it are accordingly not few." Sonnini wrote also that he saw in a library "a petrified bone of great size," which he took to be from a quadruped. When Napoleon's fleet ousted the Knights of St. John in 1798...

Driving South

A new blog by Ray de Bono aims to be a 'Free for all expresion zone'. In one of his first posts, he describes his daily drive to work from Mellieha to Ta'Xbiex. From Dmax.tv:

Start the car every morning to work, off I go. From Mellieha centre to Selmun its plain sailing. Till Xemxija is also fine, apart from the camouflaged troupe of stocky, young wardens down the Selmun hills, amongst the Carob tress, randomly pin pointing and halting drivers on their way to work, adding up to their personal record of hapless, deserving victims...You drive down to the Burmarrad roundabout. Another booby-trap-zone. Beware. It’s a tempting piece of your journey, a strange feeling of liberation grips you when you reach this spot, and after the previous ordeal your urging desire for speed may overcome logic. Bad...Government works people must have been rebuilding this roundabout circumference wall as a routine part of their duty for years. Strange how they never bothered installing crash barrier, but. To be continued…

Sabdesigns goes Malta - Malta photos

Weekly Press Digest - august 4 to august 10

Wednesday10: From the Financial Times, Malta faces asylum seekers crisis; From MaltaMedia, MLP leaders visit Adelaide in Australia and Alfred Sant writes on the Times about the Australian connection; Public Transport Authority threatens strike action; The Independent editorial states that the imprisonment of three persons guilty of attempting to organise a human smuggling mission, should serve as a deterrent; Stharrig Eurobarometer: Tisfuma l-maggoranza tal-Maltin b’appogg ghall-UE.
Tuesday9: Leo Brincat writes about the illegal immigration problem in Cyprus; Joseph Vella Bonnici on the gap between politicians and citizens; Adrian Vassallo dwar kif is-sidien qed jippreparaw ghall-Budget; Id-demokrazija gurnalistika titnaqqar, skond Gavin Gulia; CHOGM 2005 information portal goes online.
Monday8: From MaltaMedia, Eurobarometer survey says citizens less enthusiastic about EU future, u iktar minn Platernian; Minister Censu Galea on attracting new opportunities for the Valletta Port; Maltese man makes the 'poshest pies in Scotland'; Lino Spiteri says that if the economy does not turn, the odds against the Prime Minister winning the next election, will lengthen; Rapport li l-PN irid inehhi l-Ministeru ta’ Ghawdex; Leo Brincat dwar il-privileggi ta' l-ekonomista Gordon Cordina.
Sunday7: From Moscow News, Russian billionaire Abramovich cancels Malta trip after yacht fuel error, and more from the London Times; From MaltaMedia, Malta pleads for help from the EU to tackle illegal immigration while foreign minister pleads with Europe, and more from the Independent; Louise Raimondo about settling down to life in Malta; Noel Grima writes about the death of celebrated trade unionist Maurice Agius, founder of UHM; From MaltaMedia, Spielberg finishes shooting of 'Munich' film in Malta, more from the Times; Charles Flores bumps into Godfrey Grima at the supermarket; Ivan Brincat says that the new 'shortsighted' travel tax is one of the most incredible political blunders of this government; English language schools need more support, says Evarist Bartolo; Matthias A. Merzhäuser on the Malta-RyanAir controversy; Karl Schembri writes about hazardous waste crisis, and interviews the Libyan ambassador.
Saturday6: The Times celebrates its 70th anniversary; Charles Mizzi goes to Japan to revisit the Hiroshima tragedy and says the story is not over yet, u iktar minn Alfred Grixti; Government accused of taking late action on pandemic flu issue; JG Vassallo recalls the Metwally 1976 report and reviews a number of potentialy rewarding projects for the island's future.
Friday5: From China's People's Daily, Malta and China pledge further ties; 130 immigrants lost at sea between Malta, Sicily and Lampedusa; Alfred Mifsud says George Vella should have become leader of the Labour Party, and indicates how Malta could get out of its 'economic logjam'; AD welcomes the government's educational reforms; High powered Commonwealth Business Forum in Malta this November.
Thursday4: The General Workers Union prepares for industrial action; The Independent editorial says it's Cottonera's turn for re-development; The second generation government network launched; Ranier Fsadni hopes for a turnaround in the government's fortunes on the perception stakes.

Unforgettable Gerry Zammit

My feature article about the life of Gerry Zammit, which appeared on l-Orizzont last week, was the subject of another article published this weekend on It-Torca. Columnist and film historian Lino Cassar writes about his personal recollections of the young leader and protagonist of fifties Malta who, like James Dean, remains a symbol of youthful rebellion and unfulfilled promise. Zammit was jailed by the authorities following the April 1958 national protest against colonial rule, an event that changed the face of the island. That event was documented by Alfred Sant in his book "28 ta' April - Hobz u Helsien". Gerry Zammit died over 44 years ago while studying in Oxford aged 30. From "Lil Gerry Zammit ma ninsieh qatt!" by Lino Cassar:

Nixtieq nifrah minn qalbi lil Robert Micallef li f’l-orizzont ta’ nhar it-Tnejn fakkarna f’Gerry Zammit, wiehed mill-personalitajiet prominenti tal-moviment laburista (MLP u GWU) tas-snin 50. Nghidha minghajr tlaqliq li Robert Micallef – ghalkemm lil Gerry ma jiftakrux ghax wisq probabbli li ma kienx ghadu twieled* meta Gerry miet fis-6 ta’ Lulju 1961 – tabilhaqq ghamel ricerka bir-reqqa u lilna li lil Gerry niftakruh gibilna bosta tifkiriet sbieh, ghalkemm koroh ukoll ghax Gerry kien miet qasir il-ghomor ta’ ftit inqas minn 31 sena.

Jiena kont iltqajt l-ewwel darba ma’ Gerry Zammit fl-1957 meta hu kien segretarju tat-taqsima tal-gvern tal-GWU u jiena kont naghti daqqa t’id fil-gazzetta “Is-Sebh“ li kienet tinhadem f’Mayfair House, il-Belt, li kienet il-kwartier tal-GWU u fejn ukoll kien hemm l-istamperija Union Press. Allura konna niltaqghu kuljum u sirna hbieb, ghalkemm Gerry kien iddizappuntat hafna bija ghax jiena ma kontx dhalt membru fil-Labour League of Youth li taghha Gerry kien il-fundatur fl-1950, meta kellu biss 20 sena. Jiena kont ghadni ffissat fuq il-films, u fuq il-films biss, u Gerry kien jghid li jiena “mohh ir-rih“, izda bqajna hbieb xorta wahda!...

Xahrejn wara Gerry, f’Settembru 1961 kien miet ukoll ghal gharrieda Guzè Ellul Mercer id-deputat mexxej tal-Partit. Guzè u Gerry kienu zewg personalitajiet mill-aktar intellettwali, hbieb hafna u t-tnejn dejjem b’xi ktieb f’idejhom...Hasra li Gerry Zammit m’ghadux miftakar kif jixraqlu, izda jidher li l-habib tieghi Robert Micallef fi hsiebu jikteb ktieb shih fuqu. Ghalissa, sakemm johrog dan il-ktieb, inheggeg lill-qarrejja tieghi biex jaqraw u jergghu jaqraw dwar il-hajja u l-karriera qasira ta’ Gerry Zammit f’l-orizzont ta’ nhar it-Tnejn, l-1 ta’ Awissu, meta Gerry, kieku baqa’ haj, kien jaghlaq 75 sena.

*For the record, my date of birth is 10 August 1968 :)

In his regular column on the same edition of the paper, Charles Flores touches on the same subject :

..Figura fil-qasam politiku u industrijali li minn dejjem affaxxinat liz-zghazagh socjalisti ta’ kull generazzjoni bla dubju hija dik ta’ Gerry Zammit. Hadem u stinka bla stenna xi glorja. Bata l-habs u l-ingustizzja. Miet mewta kiefra f’zghozitu. Issa sar maghruf li, bil-haqq kollu, Robert Micallef qed jigbor it-taghrif kollu mehtieg biex iwasslilna l-istorja ta’ Gerry Zammit fi ktieb. Tislima xierqa u ferm mistennija...

L-istilel ta' Stella

New blogger Stella Camilleri discusses the relevance of literary writing and makes a distinction between popular and serious writing. From L-istilel ta' Stella:

Dan qed niktbu wara li Adrian Grima għadda kumment fuq l-artiklu li Marco Galea kiteb fuq Tabellina (li jien ikkummentajt dwaru hawn). L-argumenti ta' Grima jkomplu jikkumplikaw it-tema u juru kemm fil-fatt jista' jkun simpliċistiku wisq l-eżempju tar-rapporti fittizji fuq il-gazzetta. Mill-banda l-oħra, juri wkoll li anki l-argument ta' Marco Galea jista' jkun li jiġbed ċerti konklużjonijiet ta' malajr. Meta nitkellmu dwar ir-relevanza ta' xiħaġa rridu nistaqsu: "relevanti għal min?" Barra minhekk, jekk ktieb jew kittieb għandhom nuqqas ta' relevanza f'soċjeta' partikolari, ma jfissirx li kull ktieb u kull kittieb huwa irrelevanti. Jekk se nħarsu lejn ir-relevanza mil-lat ta' numri, allura Emilio Lombardi huwa aktar relevanti minn Immanuel Mifsud, jew Guże' Stagno jew oħrajn. Forsi, għax lanqas dan m'huwa ċert. Safejn naf jien, għad m'hawnx klassifika annwali ta' liema kotba Maltin inbiegħu l-aktar. Iżda mbagħad trid tara min qed jaqra xiex. Ħafna nies b'kultura 'għolja' jkemmxu wiċċhom quddiem kotba ta' xi Danielle Steel jew tas-serje Mills and Boon.

Tneħħi l-kotba ta' Rowling (fenomenu li naħseb li qed jiġi studjat) u Salman Rushdie (minħabba l-fatwa maħruġa kontrih), liema ktieb 'serju' qed jaqla' xi fururi straordinarji fid-dinja? Snin ilu kien Fil-Parlament ma Jikbrux Fjuri ta' Oliver Friggieri li forsi seta' qajjem xi ftit (ftit) għagħa hawn Malta, għar-raġuni, iżda, li t-titlu ntuża mill-oppożizzjoni ta' dak iż-żmien biex tattakka aktar lill-gvern, u mhux għall-ktieb innifsu.Tant hu hekk, li ftit taż-żmien ilu ħarġet edizzjoni oħra ta' l-istess ktieb imma ħadd ma qal xejn, ħadd ma kiteb dwaru, u ftit indunaw.

U allura wieħed jista' jasal lejn forma ta' konklużjoni li l-kotba u l-kittieba huma relevanti għalihom infushom u għall-ftit (jew ħafna) li jinteressawhom. Mill-bqija tibqa' Becky l-aktar persuna(ġġ) relevanti u magħrufa, jibqa' Peppi Azzopardi u l-istampa t'idu f'Bay Sreet ...

'Urban Xurban'

Hamrun based Antonio Olivari D'Emanuele, better known as Arcibald, breaks the local conventions and stays away from the noisy Hamrun feast. From Ajjut! Ajjut!:

Wara li għadda kollox u telaq kulħadd, sa fl-aħħar sa jkun hawn il-kwiet, għallinqas sa fil-ghaxija, sakemm il-merħla tigi lura maħruqa bix-xemx u b'hangover li tbeżża lil akbar gladjatur armat. Fil-Ħamrun hija ħaġa normali li membri tal-familja jitkażaw jekk toħrog is-Sibt wara nofsinhar ta' qabel il-festa u tidħol lura l-Ħadd wara li jkun spiċċa kollox (kif għamilt jien). Imma għall-'urban xurban' kollox huwa kulur wieħed, jew blu jew inkella aħmar, u jekk tazzarda tgħid li titnejjek liema banda hija l-ewwel fil-Ħamrun jgħidu li int m'intix vera Ħamruniz. Infatti jekk ma tixrobx u ma tinsultax ma' folla wara l-banda, ma tarmax il-gallarija b'ħamallati kkuluriti, ma tiftaħx l-isterjo bil-marċ full-on u ma toħroġx bil-flokk tal-każin ma tkunx Ħamruniż. Għandi rivelazzjoni mela - jien żgur m'jiniex Ħamruniż. Żgur li ma mmurx niċċelebra festi pagani neżalta statwi ta' persuni kattoliċi li ilhom mejtin is-sekli...

Aurelie Herbemont visits Hamrun's two band clubs

The premature death of Robin Cook

"We would have made more progress against terrorism if we brought peace to Palestine instead of going to war in Iraq"

These were the words of Robin Cook, former Foreign Secretary who resigned from the British Cabinet on March 2003 in protest against the war in Iraq. His memorable resignation speech prompted the first standing ovation in the history of the House of Commons. Robin Cook died unexpectedly this weekend at the age of 59. Since the Second World War, early and unexpected deaths have been commonplace in the British Labour Party - Gerry Reynolds and Brian O'Malley were both potential leaders who died in their early forties. Evan Durbin, Aneurin Bevan, Hugh Gaitskell, Anthony Crosland, John Smith, Donald Dewar and now Robin Cook were all Labour Party heavyweights who died prematurely.

When the Malta Labour Party submitted it's formal application for full membership of the Party of European Socialists (PES) in Summer 2003, Robin Cook was then PES President and he enthusiastically put his weight behind the application. I had the privilege of meeting Robin Cook following last year's PES congress in Brussels during the European Parliament election campaign. Cook was ending his mandate as President and during a ten minute conversation at the closing reception, he told me that a visit to Malta was on his mind for the short or medium term. A photo with Mr Cook appeared alongside an interview I gave to the Malta Independent on Sunday one week before the European elections in June last year. Robin Cook was a unique politician who did not suffer fools gladly and was praised by friends and critics alike. From today's Guardian:

Tributes to Robin Cook spread around the world yesterday as the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, and the American secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, added their voices to those in Britain in praising the man who resigned high office over the Iraq war. As the former foreign secretary's wife, Gaynor, 48 - who was with him when he collapsed on a Highland mountainside on Saturday - formally identified Mr Cook's body at an Inverness hospital, Ms Rice called him a "passionate defender of human freedom and dignity".

Mr Annan's spokesman acknowledged his "exceptional intellect, eloquence, vision and passion in the domestic and international arenas alike". The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, hailed him as "the greatest parliamentarian of his generation". Mr Cook, who was 59, was walking on a challenging part of Ben Stack, in a remote corner of Sutherland, around 300 metres from the summit, when he collapsed with a suspected heart attack. His wife called out for help and another hillwalker came to her aid. Neither of the Cooks had mobile telephones with them. As Mrs Cook tried to resuscitate her husband the walker telephoned the emergency services..

Those close to the accident deny reports that Mr Cook broke his neck when he fell. In a statement, Margaret Cook, by whom Mr Cook has two adult sons praised an "exemplary father" and "heavyweight" politician whose death was "a terrible shock and a terrible tragedy. He was so young and had so much to offer," she said. Mr Blair, who will return from holiday if the funeral is not private, said: "Robin was an outstanding, extraordinary talent - brilliant, incisive in debate, of incredible skill and persuasive power."...

How bloggers reacted to Robin Cook's death; Robin Cook's website

Malta Tourism Society

According to it's mission statement, the Malta Tourism Society aims to 'to create a national awareness about the socio-economic benefits of tourism for Malta and Gozo and to work with regional and international networks to enhance the Euro-Med Product in a sustainable manner'. It publishes an informative and ambitous newsletter called Il-Gardjola. Founder and President Julian Zarb introduces the organisation:

The Tourism Industry is not an activity that is limited to those who work in the hospitality or catering Services; rather it is an activity, which developed out of the need for social interaction for business and educational purposes. The Malta Tourism Society (MTS) was set up in May 2002 by a group of persons who shared this same ideology of an inclusive and diverse tourism industry. Membership of the Society is not limited to any specific sector and should include the practicioner and the academic as well as the civic representation in its cross-section.

Concurrently with its policy of inclusiveness and diversity, the Malta Tourism Society will continue to work for more civic awareness and knowledge of the single largest socio-economic activity in Europe and the World to ensure that sustainability is a collective function in ensuring quality and value for money. You, too, can form part of this society – by joining today you can participate in all activities...

No word from Spielberg

Steven Spielberg left Malta on Friday after two full months of filming. His new film is critical of the Israeli secret service and deals with events following the 1972 Munich Olympic Games massacre. Sarah Puntan-Galea of the Sunday Times writes today about promises made to her for an interview which never materialised:

For the filming, Malta was disguised as Israel, a cheaper and safer location, and the island bent over backwards to accommodate the director and his crew. The heightened security, which verged on paranoia, seemed to be justified after a Lm55,000 truck imported from Germany for the shooting, and its cargo of hi-tech equipment, was destroyed in a mysterious explosion last month. The driver said he heard a bang and fled as soon as he realised the truck had caught fire. The police said explosions happen when heat causes generators to overload but many, including L-Orrizont who were the first to report on the story, hinted at foul play and a terrorist attack. And with Spielberg - arguably Hollywood's most powerful director - being Jewish, the Israeli-Palestinian situation must be something he has strong opinions on. A terrorist attack in Malta - where Mossad gunned down a former Islamic Jihad leader Fathi Shqaqi on the Sliema promenade in 1995 - is a real possibility.

Because of events in the Middle East, Spielberg could well have been justified to not face the press. Controlled interviews were given to the international media - until one of his crew spilt the storyline beans to the Israeli press. Spielberg was rumoured to have faced a barrage of questions from the Israeli government. So when I had requested an interview with the director, his publicist asked about my background and found out that I had spent some time writing in Israel at the time of Yasser Arafat's death. She asked for copies of my articles to read and show Spielberg, which I believe were fairly neutral, politically. After the story spillage, the truck fire and what the publicist called her "displeasure" at unofficial shots and stories in the local newspapers, which revealed Malta production budget figures, the interview didn't happen...

Why Spielberg should avoid Malta; Fears of sabotage - Wired Temples
More from today's Malta Independent on Sunday and MaltaMedia
Pictures from the set via Walahi blog

Dom Mintoff

Dom Mintoff is 89 years old today. When former British PrimeMinister Ted Heath died three weeks ago of pneumonia, Mr Mintoff, just one month younger than Mr Heath, was on his way (once again) to recovering from similar symptoms. Being far more health conscious, Mr Mintoff's chances of recovery were always going to be better than those of his early 70s British counterpart. Dom Mintoff, born August 1916, was Prime Minister of Malta under British colonial rule, between 1955 and 1958, and then for another 13 years after independence, between 1971 and 1984. In the August 2004 edition of British magazine The Oldie, FT journalist Godfrey Grima wrote a critical biographical piece on the former socialist PrimeMinister. His personal judgement is expressed with strong value laden terms, which is not surprising, given that in the eighties, Grima was once 'hauled in front of Parliament charged with breach of privilege' after writing a piece for the Financial Times criticising a law that forced the Maltese to repatriate their investments from abroad. That story inspired Maltese author Oliver Friggieri to write his controversial anti establishment novel Fil-Parlament ma jikbrux Fjuri in 1986. Grima's article about Dom Mintoff, part of the 'Still with us' series of the Oldie, is not available online but, courtesy of Grima, I reproduce here some excerpts with added hyperlinks:

He was, and remains a man of intriguing contradictions, a product of Oxford and a friend of Labour Party radicals like Bessie Braddock, Fenner Brockway and Richard Crossman. But it was Lord Louis Mountbatten who did most to advance his career. Mintoff's father, a seaman cook, ran the pantry at Castille Palace in Valletta, where Mountabatten, then Flag Officer heading NATO's Mediterranean fleet had his office. In the summer, Mintoff senior took his teenage son to help in the pantry. He saw no danger in sending young Dom to serve Mountbatten his cups of tea.

The experience proved profitable for Mintoff junior. He not only won a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford later, but Mountbatten, according to historians, promoted a scheme which Mintoff championed for Malta to seek full integration with Britain, a political initiative that split the island right down the middle. The project was eventually abandoned as unworkable, turning Dom against Britain for years..

Mintoff met his future wife, Moira de Vere Bentinck, daughter of an aristocratic British colonel, while studying mathematics at Oxford. On his return to wartorn Malta following a stint working as an architect in Britain, he lost no time as a Labour minister in nailing his colours to the mast, first by locking horns with Britain over demands for Marshall aid, then by wresting the party leadership from Sir Paul Boffa. He was hardly ever out of the news after that..

But he was an excellent negotiator. He walked away from his discussions with Britain and NATO over bases with almost five times as much as Malta had been paid previously. He convinced the Chinese to build him a number of costly infrastructural projects for free and got Gaddafi to act as his banker when state funds were low, while Arabs supplied him with low priced oil. By the time he left power the island's national coffers were stacked to the rafters with funds.

In 1983 rising popular dissent forced him to quit the premiership after 13 years. He could never stomach his successor-but-one, Alfred Sant who in 1996 propelled the Malta Labour Party into power with a single seat majority. Mintoff made sure that victory would be short-lived. Two years later he voted with the opposition, bringing the government down..

Mintoff remains a health freak who still swims for an hour in the sea every day of the year, drinks ginseng and is occasionally seen by Chinese doctors. A foreign ambassador who recently saw him at his countryside retreat was surprised to find him with so much fire in his belly still - except that, he added, the man now lives in the stratosphere.

The God that failed - edited by Richard Crossman

The message of Hiroshima - Today , the world commemorates 60 years since the atomic bomb was dropped over Hiroshima - the world's first nuclear attack. At 8:15 on the morning of August 6th, 1945, a U.S. military plane dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. It was followed 3 days later by another on the city of Nagasaki. At least 100,000 people were killed and it helped bring an end to the U.S.-Japanese war.

To be or not to be

New blogger Nemxa, who has just started reading Immanuel's Kimika, starts her blog by posting some reflections ( with some help from Hamlet) on the human inclination towards fear. From Nemxa:

Illum irkibt ma' missieri - rari li nqatta l-ħin miegħu. Għandi mistoqsija importanti x'insaqsih, imma nibża' mit-tweġiba tiegħu. Nibża ukoll li jekk ma nistaqsihx dalwaqt, ikun tard wisq. Is-sitwazzjoni tfakkarni f'Hamlet... hu u jikkonsidra s-suwiċidju, ikkonkluda li ma noqtlux lilna nfusna, għalkemm ngħixu ħajja ta' tbatija, għax nibżgħu li nispiċċaw għar milli konna. Il-biża żżomna, u naħseb li din tiġri iktar milli nixtiequ nammettu lilna nfusna. Forsi nsaqsih il-ġimgħa d-dieħla.

Death: the undiscovered country

New blogger Karl Vella Fiorentino on the misery of this world

Malta and China getting closer

The Chinese press have been reporting the visit to Malta of China's deputy Prime minister. Talks focused on extending Malta-China relations that were established 33 years ago. From the Chinese People's Online Daily:

Visiting Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu and Maltese President Edward Fenech Adami and Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi have agreed to further expand and strengthen bilateral cooperation in a number of fields. Hui began his visit in Valletta on Wednesday at the invitation of the Maltese government after attending the funeral of late Saudi King Fahd Ibn Abdul-Aziz on behalf of Chinese President Hu Jintao and the Chinese government.

During his separate talks with the two Maltese leaders, Hui said that over the past 33 years since China and Malta established diplomatic ties, bilateral relations have undergone good development, with both sides respecting each other, treating each other equally, living in amity and being engaged in cooperation of mutual benefit. He said the Chinese government attaches importance to developing relations with Malta and appreciates the Maltese government's adherence to the one-China policy over the Taiwan issue..

President Adami spoke highly of bilateral ties, saying that for many years, Malta has been dedicated to developing friendly ties with China and takes pride in maintaining good relations with such a big country as China. The president reiterated that Malta will firmly observe the one-China policy and highly regards the Chinese policy of "one country, two systems." He also thanked China for its long-term support and assistance to the economic and social developments in Malta...Gozi said Malta will continue its efforts to consolidate the Sino-Maltese friendship and make further contributions to strengthening the Sino-EU relations...

Chinese President in Grand Harbour - Wired Temples

The Raison D'etre of Wired Temples

J'Accuse is the platform for Maltese blogger Jacques Rene Zammit, a lawyer living in Luxembourg, who is doing a great service to the Maltese blogosphere with his prolific writing. In his first post back in March he wrote about joining the Kinnie Generation and warned his readers of his irony, black humour and lack of rules.

While still in Malta last year, Jacques was running a radio duscussion show for Campus FM on which he invited me twice - first pitting me against Simon Busuttil and a few weeks later with Joanna Drake in both cases discussing European policy. I enjoyed the discussions during the EP election campaign and Jacques was a fair and just moderator.

Incidentally, I had first met both Busutill and Drake together just over ten years before. At that time, I was president of the National Youth Council and we had launched a national information campaign about the pros and cons of the European Union. It was the first campaign of it's kind and it involved seminars, debates, media events and the publication of a detailed report about EU threats and opportunities for the young. We had decided to commission the report jointly to Simon and Joanna. It was a report that introduced them to the Maltese public as experts on the subject. The report focused on the opportunities and they later established themselves as two of the most vocal supporters of EU membership. Simon Busuttil is today a member of the European Parliament and Joanna Drake is the newly appointed head of the EU Representation office in Malta, a position for which I was also shortlisted by the European Commission. I take this opportunity to congratulate Joanna and wish her well in her three year appointment.

Back to blogging, an entry posted yesterday by Jacques gave me the opportunity to write and post about the nature of Wired Temples and my blogging plans for the future. Toni Sant, the brains behind MaltaMedia who believes that the Maltese islands will one day sink to the bottom of the Mediterranean, also participated in the discussion. The first documented reply to a blog on Malta's mainstream media was the Maltese Curia's reply to Toni Sant's blog via Wired Temples and, as Jacques notes, Lorna Vasallo's answer to J'Accuse was the first reply by a newspaper columnist. Jacques, whose blog gained a surge of hits in mid June thanks to the Beck effect, also refers to the useful article by Rebecca Cefai on Maltese blogging published a few days ago on Tabellina. Majistral from Malta9Thermidor has posted a response in which he says that the pace of Maltese blogging is seasonal. He also recalled a previous entry in which he had predicted the premature death of Maltese blogging. With added hyperlinks, I am reproducing here what I wrote on J'Accuse

As Toni says, my move to MaltaMedia is not linked to any restrictions regarding the contents of my blog. Although I keep to the daily commitment of posting on WT, it is natural that some days/weeks are more active than others. The last few weeks have been unusually busy with Eurobarometer work so my blog surfing time was severely compromised. But J'Accuse is one of the blogs I never miss. And my July top ten blog is coming up very soon!

Wired Temple's spirit and raison d'etre remain unchanged. Linking to other Maltese blogs is one important feature. I usually link to those which are recently created and there have been fewer of those lately. I agree that it would be good to have more links and interaction with regular and active blogs such as yours. Blogging is more fun if we can engage more effectively with news items and with each other's posts. That is what I had in mind when I started the Weekly News Digest on Wednesdays.

One other important feature of WT is the regular link to bloggers who visit Malta and write about their travel experiences. Some of these accounts may lack in depth when viewed by expert anthropologists like Athena but the idea is to create a kind of compendium/archive of Malta references from the blogosphere. The same goes for Malta related items from international websites that are also featured on WT.

Those who are interested in reading more on this subject, I refer you to a fascinating book published by Encounters books in 2000 edited by Peter Serracino Inglott and Petra Bianchi with an intro by Guido De Marco. The book, titled 'Encounters with Malta' is a collection of accounts of Malta as seen by the eyes of visitors throughout Malta's history. I strongly recommend it.

As Kenneth has discovered, I will soon start a more personal blog which I will use as a platform for my opinions and comments about a wide range of subjects. Wired Temples will stay as it is but my more personal and political notes will be channeled via robertmicallef.com/blog - but first i need to update my website. More on that later.

Weekly Press Digest - july 28 to august 3

Wednesday3: MIC publishes first edition of Malta-EU Directory; Desmond Zammit Marmara writes on The Times about the attributes of Alfred Sant; L-Unjoni Ewropeja tinsulenta lil Malta, skond is-shadow minister ta' l-Intern Gavin Gulia li f'artiklu iehor kiteb li 'wasal iz-zmien li ma’ l-Ewropej naddottaw xi ftit l-istil Mintoffjan fin-negozjati taghna'; Reno Borg dwar il-'Park and Ride' fil-Belt; Il-Kampanja Helsien Nazzjonali dwar il-htiega ta’ bidla radikali fl-UE.

Tuesday2: Crisis in Malta is the title of The Times editorial; Austin Sammut says Malta is the only EU country not to have legislation covering access to the countryside; Simon Burns fit-Times ta' Londra jghid li hemm bzonn li 'nwaqqfu l-Maltin milli jkomplu jisparaw fuq il-gamiem'.
Monday1: Malta prepares for a long hot summer of industrial unrest; From MaltaMedia, Cabinet deals with illegal immigration crisis while protest is sent to Libya; 256 irregular immigrants land in Malta in two days; EU investigates departure tax increase in Malta; EU directive bans advertising of tobacco; Nature campaigner Annalise Falzon writes about the beauty of dolphins; Lino Spiteri says the country needs decent roads; Il-mewt kmieni ta' Gerry Zammit - James Dean tal-politika Maltija.

Sunday31: Committee for the Prevention of Torture makes second visit to Malta; Miriam Dalli, newly appointed head of news at Super1, is interviewed by Charlot Zahra; J.G. Vassallo says blogging is democratizing the process of opinion making; Lino Cassar dwar l-industrja tal-films 'li qatt ma kienet'; Il-krizi ekonomika issa qed tolqot il-laham il-haj skond Charles Flores; Michaela Muscat reports that 'immoral' NGOs may be refused state recognition; Evarist Bartolo writes about the Nationalist habit of 'dehumanising Labourites'; The Transport minister is interviewed by Matthew Vella about roads and the failures of the the public transport system.

Saturday30: Malta signs and ratifies revised European Social Charter that guarantees fundamental social and economic rights; Heritage Malta contributes to the safeguarding of a collective European memory; Government launches ‘pre-budget consultation document’; Il-vapuri militari fil-portijiet taghna, specjalment dawk Amerikani, huma minnhom innifishom provokazzjoni ghat-terrorizmu internazzjonali, jghid Wenzu Mintoff.

Friday29: Harry Vassallo quotes Eurobarometer results that show support for EU membership go down to 40 per cent and says that the two parties in Parliament ratified the EU Constitution 'above the heads of their supporters'; Marie Louise Coleiro dwar il-gideb fil-politika.

Thursday28: Electoral Commission publishes revised electoral districts; From the International Herald Tribune, Malta, Ireland, Portugal and Poland are the only European countries with strict legal limits on abortion; War veterans to return to a more peaceful Malta; Maltese male visitors to London should be careful because they fit the 'standard terrorist description’; Church and State disagree on the start of human life; Hector Scerri on the Pope's first 100 days u jumejn wara jirrispondi Mark Montebello; Karm Farrugia on creative accounting.

My Top Ten Maltese blog entries - July 2005

- in alphabetical order -

Banana Power - Mark Vella's prejudices

Hgejjeg - on Doreen Micallef, Philosophers and Joy Division

Ic-Cirku Bertu Funtana1 - The first in a series of ground breaking posts by Mikiel Galea about youth culture in 80s Malta. More from the July archive

Ittra lil Ivana - Malta explained by Antoine Cassar

L-elit krepuskolari - Immanuel with thoughtful follow up

London Burning - Sharon on 7/7 and more from MaltaGirl

Reporter - Aħbarijiet għat-tfal - Ajjut! Ajjut! audio blog

The establishment is not interested - Malta,9Thermidor says the establishment is not listening

The power of the Blog - J'Accuse on blogging wisely

Vamos a la playa - Toni Sant on the blogging slowdown

A special mention goes to the following blog entries:

44 - Max L.Fly's 44 year list
5 ta' April, 1994 - Xwajten on Nirvana
Cry the beloved country... - Athena against racism
Freedom of speech - Peklectrick against hate
Futbol Malti, futbol Taljan - Gawdxi on football
Il-kultura tad-dwejjaq - Sandro's thoughts
Kimika - Ricensjoni ta' Roderick
L-elit generali - Gybexi's elite
L-innoċenza li qatt ma tlifna - Erezija on Kimika
Meta wzint il-paranoja - WaWeasill's ideal Europe
Punk's Not Dead - Tgerfix ta' Xaghar u Muzika
Roma-Firenze - Mistoqsija in Italy
Status Quo - Pierre J Mejlaq in London for Live8
Sunday Goodies - Kenneth browses on a Sunday
The sacred island of Melita -Notes by Splengun
Things that go swish in the night - Nina makes a wish
Silence and the right wing radicals - By Justin BB
Tommy - Rupert Cefai on the parking attendant
Xita, Beatles u Diet Coke - Moondust in Birmingham

The second Blog Carnival

MaltaGirl's successful blog carnival is back. She lists a number of contributions from the Maltese blogosphere which she inventively puts together here:

If you need a break, you can go on holiday but mind how you travel; don't drink the water (but you can use it to wash your clothes), be careful at the seaside, eat safe foods like bananas or cereal, look after your health and be careful of your money. Travel broadens the mind, as they say, and although you might miss watching TV and reading the local newpapers, you might still be able to visit the theatre. And of course, philosophy and politics are to be found everywhere, as can plenty of poetry.

The first Blog Carnival

The heroic figure of Gerry Zammit

One of my projects for next year is a biographical publication on the life of a prominent young leader of the fifties whose life was cut short at the age of 30 while studying in Oxford. Gerry Zammit, a close associate of Dom Mintoff, died on July 1961 and was the founder of the Labour Party's youth organisation and a charismatic protagonist in the fight against colonialism. Despite his youth, he was already an influential figure and a leading trade unionist before he went to Oxford. The recent history of both the MLP and the GWU would most certainly have been different had he lived. He married Ann Johnson, who was studying in the same college, a year before he died of cancer. She later established herself as an economist within the UN system and now lives in France close to the Swiss border. It is a sad and moving story of unfulfilled promise. There is hardly anything documented about his life and my research is based on scattered sources and personal testimonies. L-Orizzont today published a feature article which I wrote as a preview for the book. An excerpt from the article:

F’Marzu 1961, tliet xhur qabel miet, Gerry zar Malta ghall-ahhar darba flimkien ma’ Ann. Kienu alloggjati fil-villa tal-Perit Dom Mintoff, li mieghu Gerry kien jikkorrispondi regolari minn Oxford. Minn ftit wara li sar l-’isplit’ tal-Partit Laburista fl-1949, Gerry kien rebah il-fiducja u l-kunfidenza ta’ Mintoff u baqa’ jghinu fil-hidma tal-Partit sa l-ahhar. Wara ftit granet biss li kienu Malta, Gerry hassu hazin fir-residenza ta’ Mintoff u kien ordnat mit-tabib tieghu biex jirritorna lura l-Ingilterra immedjatament biex jinghata medicina specjali. Dak kellu jkun l-ahhar vjagg ta’ Gerry.

Kienet Ann Zammit li gabet l-ahbar tal-mewt tieghu li sehhet il-Hamis, 6 ta’ Lulju. L-ahbar hasdet bil-kbir lill-Partit Laburista u lill-GWU. Hasdet iktar lill-familjari tieghu, li sa dak in-nhar kienu ghadhom ma jafux bil-gravità tal-marda li kellu. Kien Gerry stess li ma xtaqhomx ikunu jafu biex ma jinkwetawx. Ann baqghet Malta matul dak is-sajf alloggjata fir-residenza ta’ Mintoff. Ghal Mintoff, it-telfa ta’ Gerry kienet wahda mill-akbar ghafsiet ta’ qalb li garrab f’hajtu.

Il-mewt ta’ Gerry saret fi zmien meta r-relazzjonijiet bejn il-partit u l-knisja kienu hziena hafna. F’dik is-sena l-ezekuttiv kollu tal-partit inghata l-interdett u Gerry innifsu, skond Ann, kien mhedded bl-istess interdett anke fuq is-sodda tal-mewt. Sa l-ahhar Gerry baqa’ ma cediex il-principji Laburisti tieghu...Bhal James Dean, l-artist li kien jammira u li hadem il-film ‘Rebel without a cause’, Gerry kien karizmatiku u spikka kemm ghax kien bniedem kapaci, kif ukoll ghax kellu hajja qasira. Gerry Zammit ukoll hu simbolu ribelluz li kien ta’ ispirazzjoni ghal hafna nies li gew warajh...

Update: Lino Cassar responds to my Gerry Zammit feature article: 'Lil Gerry Zammit' ma ninsieh qatt'

Towards the edge

Sociology Professor Jeremy Freese recalls the Malta based novel by Thomas Pynchon he read fifteen years ago as he prepares to move from Madison to Cambridge. From Jeremy Freese's Weblog:

Several times in the past few days, when I've thought about leaving this place and heading off to Cambridge, into my mind has come the ending of a novel I read back in my early days of college. I don't really know why exactly the passage comes to mind, but my suspicion is that the way I'm feeling now is sort of like what I felt as I first read this passage fifteen years ago. Or something.

Just now, in the throes of insomnia and thinking about it again, I finally went over to the bookshelves and looked it up. The passage is from Thomas Pynchon's V. (no relation to the cheesy alien-invasion miniseries). The scene takes place in Valletta (Malta), in 1956. One of the novel's two protagonists, the wandering ex-Navy seaman Benny Profane, is talking to a random American tourist, Brenda Wigglesworth, abroad for the first time, who he met in a bar the evening before. They are standing outside another bar, chatting mundanely about what they have done with their lives to that point...

"..Later, out in the street, near the sea steps she inexplicably took his hand and began to run. The buildings in this part of Valletta, eleven years after war's end, had not been rebuilt. The street, however, was level and clear. Hand in hand with Brenda whom he'd met yesterday, Profane ran down the street. Presenly, sudden and in silence, all illumination in Valletta, houselight and streetlight, was extinguished. Profane and Brenda continued to run through the abruptly absolute night, momentum alone carrying them toward the edge of Malta, and the Mediterranean beyond."