Touch of sunshine

Touch of Malta sunshine for 98 year old traveller Rose Martin, from the UK's Cambridge Evening News:

Airline staff have been amazed by 98-year-old regular flier Rose Martin. Great grandmother Mrs Martin, who lives in Burwell, is believed to be one of the world's oldest airline passengers. She flies to Malta almost every year to visit her daughter Diana Turton and her husband Francis, who live on the island of Gozo. This year she was accompanied by Mrs Turton, 66.

Air Malta staff upgraded them to Club Class when they checked in at Heathrow for their flight. And when they got to Malta Mrs Martin was presented with a bouquet and a bottle of champagne. "This was really a surprise. I never expected such treatment," said Mrs Martin. Mrs Martin, a former newspaper proof reader, previously lived in March. Her son Richard, 72, who lives in Isleham, is a former head of Burwell Village College. She has two grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Finders keepers

The news that Maltese Customs was ordered by a Maltese court to return $5 000 to an airport loader who had found it on a plane, has been reported by media all over the world from South Africa to India. From Reuters:

A Maltese court has ordered the Customs Department to return to an aircraft loader $5,000 (2,665 pounds) he found on a plane. The loader found the cash on a plane that arrived in Malta from Tripoli in July 2000. He handed it to customs, but asked for it to be returned when no one claimed it. Customs refused, arguing it was illegal to hold foreign currency under a law existing at the time. A court on Monday decided however that the loader, John Fiteni, had a right to the money, the Malta Times newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Tribali

Natushka at L-esperiment blogs about yesterday's World Music concert in front of a packed house near the Hagar Qim Temples by Maltese band Tribali:

Min il-bieraħ kien Ħagar Qim, jaf li kienet xow tal-ġenn u bomba. Jien ħlief kliem ta' tifħir m'għandix għal dawn il-mużiċisti li komplew juru li f'Malta hawn talent kbir. Iddispjaċini li ma kontx qtajt biljetti qabel, u ħsibt li kienet se tkun faċli biex nidħol imma fil-fatt ma tantx kienet. Imma minn hawn jew minn hemm irnexxieli nidħol. Is-CD diġa ħraqtu....veru kien f'mument ġust li ġie 'launched' dan l-album, għax bħalissa veru għandi bżonn ta' din it-tip ta mużika. Jien nissuġerrixxi li min ma kienx hemm il-bieraħ jew irid aktar dettalji jew biex jordna is-cd tidħlu fis-sit tagħhom hawn hekk: http://www.tribalimusic.com/

North South Education cooperation

Libya to promote educational cooperation with Malta, from LJBC.net:

The Secretary of Higher Education has discussed with the Maltese Minster of Education and Youth ways to activate the signed agreements between the two countries. In their Sunday meeting in Tripoli, the two sides reviewed horizons of cooperation between institutions of higher education in both countries in addition to exchange of expertise in the field of training.

The Maltese Minister also met during his visit with the Secretary of Man-Power and Training, where he discussed with him ways to enhance technical cooperation and promote training centres in the two countries.

MLP Education Plan

'I am Malta'

The Maltese Authorities are spending one million Maltese Liri worth of adverts on CNN in the the coming months:

Mil-lum fuq l-istazzjon CNN bdiet kampanja ta’ pubbliċità dwar Malta. Ir-reklami se jintwerew fl-Ewropa, il-Lvant Nofsani u l-Afrika...Il-kampanja fuq is-CNN se ddum għaddejja sitt xhur, b’waqfa ta’ ftit ġimgħat fl-eqqel tas-Sajf meta l-udjenzi jonqsu xi ftit. Il-kampanja ser tiswa madwar miljun Dollaru Amerikan...l-iskop tal-kampanja fuq stazzjon bħas-CNN, huwa dak li l-preżenza tal-prodott turistiku Malti tkun waħda kostanti, ta’ livell għoli u li tippromwovi l-aħjar offerta possibbli li għandna, jiġifieri l-poplu tagħna..

Il-Ministru għat-Turiżmu u Kultura qal li l-kampanja fuq is-CNN għandha t-tema ‘I am Malta!’. Hu qal li b’differenza mir-reklami ta’ pajjiżi kompetituri tagħna fil-qasam turistiku, il-kampanja ta’ Malta tiffoka fuq il-persuni, b’messaġġ qasir iżda qawwi li Malta hija esperjenza u mhux sempliċi destinazzjoni turistika. Hu qal li dan jinkwadra fil-viżjoni tal-proċess tal-‘branding’ għal pajjiżna...

Broadway's Sarah Ripard

Narcy Calamatta writes about Maltese actress Sarah Ripard, his former neighbour in San Gwann, who is now performing on Broadway:

Theatre buffs like me have one big dream. That is to go to New York and see a musical show on the legendary Broadway. Yet one would not dare dream to be at the Broadway Theatre itself and see one’s neighbour’s daughter on stage. My friend Frans Ripard is also my neighbour and first choice stage manager for musicals I have directed. His daughter Sarah went to school with my daughter. At the age of 7 she found herself living in England with her Mauritian mother, where she went to the distinguished Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Her inspiration was her grandmother, Mary Ripard, who was my Zolli in the original Wenzu w Rozi TV series. Eventually young Sarah went to live in Los Angeles for more training and a professional launch in an acting career..

Her highest moment to date must surely be her part as Kitty DeSouza, the ex-film star and TV personality, in the new Bollywood celebration musical, Bombay Dreams. I could not believe my eyes when Sarah walked out of the backstage door to take me and my family inside when a crowd of admirers mobbed her for her autograph..

Our Sarah Ripard was very successful as Kitty on Broadway. She even doubled in minor roles throughout the show. I kept focusing on Sarah’s discipline in portraying her various characters with versatility. Sometimes I couldn’t even recognise her. Her carriage, her voice, her stage presence impressed me with their professional standard. She is a beautiful child and will go far. Sarah will be hard pressed to top Bombay Dreams at the Broadway Theatre NY...

Maria Pisani

Maria Pisani is an artist who had a nomadic childhood:

Maria is a Maltese artist born in 1970. Maria spent most of her childhood living a nomadic life commuting mostly between Germany and England. Maria's art is explorative as she uses different techniques and chooses the media largely according to her mood. However her favourite medium is soft chalk pastels, providing for spontaneity, experimentation and allowing her to sculpt her art directly with her fingers, changing her mind endless times.

Maria describes her painting as an almost conscious attempt to disentangle, through visualization and reflection, the essential elements of significance to one’s life. Her hope is to have the viewer pause for a moment, and perhaps, to react, reflect and interpret the painting in their own individual way..

Maria Pisani's Gallery

Notes from a small island

Gozo is the Eden from which its sister Malta was expelled...but it's got more than a few crazy ways - that's part of its charm, says Adrian Mourby writing in the UK's Independent:

Gozo is an odd island. It's idyllic, yes, but just a little bit crazy. The first thing I noticed about it was that there are two opera houses at opposite ends of the main street. And they're big. For an island with a population smaller than Bridlington that is quite something. But it's a clue. Gozitans cannot bear to be outdone, especially by each other. They compete in everything, even 1,500-seat opera houses. The people on neighbouring Malta look upon their sister isle with fondness. "This is how Malta was before independence," they say..

A quarter of the size of its blowsy neighbour, Gozo is crossed by quiet, dusty roads leading to small, low villages dominated by huge Baroque churches where old ladies in black sit in silent, toothless judgement on the occasional coach party. Gozo's rocky inlets are quiet too, havens for swimmers - and smugglers who pass through here on their way between Sicily and North Africa - and its land is rich. Gozo produces much of the food consumed on Malta, and Gozitan farmers have learnt that there is money to be made by turning their outbuildings into luxury holiday accommodation. And yet, underneath the serenity, there blazes this fierce competitive streak..

"You'll find one person opens a shoe shop here," says Ann Monsarrat, widow of Nicholas Monsarrat, the author of The Cruel Sea, "and the next day someone else opens a shoe shop in the same street. It's the same with the churches. In 1836 Rabat Cathedral formed a marching band. So the Basilica of St George in Rabat did the same. The cathedral then built a dance hall. So did the basilica. Then the cathedral turned its dance hall into an opera house, so the basilica built one too. Now we have two opera houses!"..

These rivalries don't impinge directly on those who holiday or come to live here, unless they arrive at the time of the Festa of St George, when the procession is quite likely to be pelted by supporters from the cathedral. The peripatetic Monsarrats arrived in 1968, intending to move on after a few years. But Nicholas stayed until his death in 1979. Barbara Greene, cousin of the writer Graham, bought a farmhouse here after the trip she made with Greene to Liberia (published as Too Late to Turn Back). Anthony Burgess was a frequent visitor from his home on Malta.

But you wouldn't know where Barbara Greene's house was, nor indeed the Monsarrats'. Both are low stone buildings with a single door set into the wall alongside well-worn tracks. From long habit the people of Gozo keep the outsides of their houses simple. In 1551 the Turkish navy arrived here and carried off the island's entire population, all 6,000 of them, into slavery. The islanders have been keeping their heads down ever since...

'Immigration avalanche'

If you thought Malta had a problem with illegal immigration, then think of the situation in the Canary Islands. El Mundo reports that the Canary Islands’ parliament has asked Madrid to form a naval cordon around the archipelago, also requesting that the EU establish an emergency fund to deal with the “immigration avalanche” of more than 2,000 Africans arriving over the past 2 weeks. Spanish Vice-President María Teresa Fernández de la Vega yesterday travelled to Brussels to request EU support in dealing with the situation. A Commission spokesman described this as “not a Spanish problem, but a European problem”. This report from the International Herald Tribune gives an indication of the EU reaction to the Spanish requests:

The Canary Islands are suddenly the outpost of Europe most at risk of experiencing an infusion of refugees from Africa, and the European Union is reacting with alarm. "Europe has to wake up and stop staring at its belly button," Miguel Becerra, a senior policy advisor for this region of the Spanish government, said in an interview. "If Europe doesn't realize that this is a big problem and that it's going to get worse, we are going to be in real trouble."

The European Union announced late Tuesday that at least eight member states would provide planes, boats and other resources to help Spain patrol its borders. If a day goes by without a boat full of sub-Saharan migrants landing on the shores of this island, Red Cross officials here begin to worry. "We know they are out there," said Rubén Fernández, a Red Cross director in Tenerife. "We get reports that boats have left the African coasts. If they haven't arrived, it's because they have been held up by rough seas or have gone off course.."

Tenerife, the largest of Spain's Canary Islands, which lie about 110 kilometers, or 70 miles, off Morocco's southwestern coast, has become the focal point of a growing wave of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa who appear more and more willing to take enormous risks to reach Europe. Over the past month, thousands of migrants have been coming ashore here on wooden boats after journeys of 8 to 10 days from the northern coast of Senegal, about 1,400 kilometers away. They come to start a new life, to earn money to send back home, or to flee wars, economic distress and political persecution, according to government and humanitarian officials who have spoken with them.

More than 7,000 have arrived in the Canary Islands so far this year, compared to only 4,700 migrants during all of 2005. Officials for the regional government here say they are overwhelmed by the onslaught. "It is time to realize that what happens in Africa affects Europe directly," Bacerra said. "As people realize that you can get to heart of Europe by taking a boat to the Canary Islands, the situation is only going to get worse unless Spain, Europe, and the international community come up with policies for addressing this."...

Veronica enjoys her Eurovision 'fame'

Veronica Harriet danced and performed backing vocals for Fabrizio Faniello at the Eurovision and enjoyed her 'fame' despite the single vote from Albania. The Huddersfield Daily Examiner interviews Veronica about her Malta experience in Athens. She expresses her surprise about Malta's negative result 'because Fabrizio had done promotion in 20 countries across Europe - though, strangely, Albania wasn't one of them':

It was nearly "nul point" for a Huddersfield singer and dancer who took part in this year's Eurovision Song Contest. Veronica Harriet, who comes from Oakes, was one of the team in the Maltese entry which scored just one point on Saturday. Fabrizio Faniello's song, I Do, was seventh on the bill of 24 songs. The only country to vote for him was Albania.

Veronica, who danced and performed backing vocals, said: "It was a great thing to be part of. "It was the most amazing experience of my life." The competition, which attracted 100m viewers, was eventually won by ghoulish Finnish rockers Lordi. UK entry Daz Sampson finished 19th with his Teenage Life rap.

Veronica said: "We were looked after wonderfully by the Maltese team. "I was surprised at how we did because Fabrizio had done promotion in 20 countries across Europe - though, strangely, Albania wasn't one of them. "It was a fabulous show to be part of and we all did our best. "There was a great atmosphere and everyone was very friendly. "Afterwards we were all very disappointed, but the head of the Maltese delegation was lovely. "He said: `You will always be welcome in Malta', which was a lovely thing to say."

Veronica, a former Salendine Nook High School pupil, added: "It was a great experience. "All the teams were great. The guys from Finland were even approachable - despite their make-up and masks! "We were like one big family and I'll miss all the people on the Maltese team."

From DotEurovision, Malta team in angry exchanges; From MaltaMedia, soul searching starts after Eurovision debacle

Holiday rumours

Rumours hit tourist island, writes Roger Munns for Tribune Properties. He says 'Malta could be off the list of destinations offered by major tour operators from next summer:

Visitor numbers to the Mediterranean island of Malta could fall dramatically as major tour operators consider pulling the island out of their holiday brochures. While nothing has been confirmed yet, it has been reported that at least one of the tour operators is seriously considering withdrawing Malta as one of their destinations, and the fear among Malta hotel owners and those in the holiday industry is that once one holiday company pulls the plug on the island, others will follow, relegating Malta from a mainstream holiday island offered by major travel agents to smaller specialist companies.

But First Choice Holidays, winner of the 'Holiday Company of the Year' travel award in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and one of the UK's best known holiday companies, has told the independent Malta travel guide YourMalta.com that despite being named in the Malta press as the company most likely to do so they have never said they were pulling out of the Malta holiday market, but did admit that the Malta market was "increasingly difficult" to sale.

Malta has been struggling for some years to adapt to the modern traveller, but government figures released for March showed a year on year drop in tourists of nearly 10 per cent.

And most worrying of all was that the number of tourists arriving from the UK, Malta's main market, fell by over 13 per cent, and visitors from Italy, a market the Tourist Office had been trying to cultivate also fell. Holidays in Malta and the related tourist sector are a major source of employment in Malta, and with unemployment running at over 8 per cent any fall in tourists could spell long-term damage to the island's economy.

Another sector of the economy that could suffer with the Malta holidays market is real estate. Property in Malta has risen in price in recent years, and 2004 saw Malta achieving the highest increase among the EU countries, with speculators buying property in Malta in the hope that joining the EU would see Malta real estate increase in value in the short and medium term. Tribune Properties, who specialise in Malta Real Estate, view the potential downgrading of holidays in Malta as a double edged sword...

Lordi rocks Eurovision

The blogosphere has been alive with comments and opinions posted live during last night's Eurovision. Malta's Fabrizio, who finished towards the bottom of the pile, attracted a varied mix of comments: Second Silencer said he sang like Boy George but was dressed like some sort of strange Latin Lover; Omap wrote Fabrizio was out of tune; Shrillczar wrote that Malta's song is one of those prototypical Eurovision songs, cynically calculated to compete but not even remotely good enough to win; Lucius Sulla compares Faniello to a gay cat; Faniello freaks out AustenGirl; Salamagundi said Malta could be a winner; Bromley writes Malta is ten years too late with this song; Ninerva comments on scary eyebrows and sheer enthusiasm (a reminder of Terry Wogan "Serious eyebrows" quip!); Karen Fricker calls (writing on the Guardian's news blog) Malta's song a nifty little disco number.

And as predicted by Toni Sant, Finland's Lordi won hands down after capturing the attention of the world's media. More from EurovisionMalta

Dodging tax

Billy Connolly tells Campbell Robertson that his move to Malta was part of a tax dodge:

Billy Connolly, the Scottish comedian, began his act the other night by talking about his recently acquired eyeglasses, moved on to his prostate exam and gave a thorough account of his adventure with laxatives by way of a discussion of colonoscopies. So it would seem that the title of his show, the "Too Old to Die Young" tour, was a statement by Mr. Connolly, 63, a reformed alcoholic and fixture of the cocaine-fueled 1970's British rock scene, on the difficulties of aging..

Last year Ms. Stephenson decided that she wanted to sail around the world in a 120-foot yacht (they are, Mr. Connolly admits onstage, fairly wealthy), so to buy the yacht they sold the house in California (because they're not that wealthy). While Ms. Stephenson tours Galápagos and Bali, Mr. Connolly divides the time he is not on tour between their estate in Aberdeenshire, Scotland; the house in Malta; and the yacht, wherever it happens to be. Other comedians might conceal this kind of financial success with banter about trips to the supermarket, but in his act Mr. Connolly, a former welder who was reared mainly by his aunts in a Glasgow tenement, talks about the perks of wealth with the relish of the formerly poor. He offhandedly mentions trips to Tahiti and his chauffeured limousine; he even slyly mentions that his move to Malta was part of a tax dodge. "You can't talk about being broke when they know you're not," he said. "If you've got a big house, talk about a big house."...

On a jet plane

Angela from South Royalton, Vermont is leaving on a jet plane to Malta:

I am leaving for Malta today in approximately 8 hours. Why am I still up? Because I decided to pack at the last minute. Just call me Last Minute Ange. I have left auto-replies on all of my email accounts, but just to remind you: I will be gone 5/20 through 6/17 with limited to no phone or email access. Update: Work was long this weekend. Malta came way too fast. I hate Walmart. I hate going into that store...On Bailey deciding that her new favorite place to sleep at night is my bed: not so much. Even though she only weighs 14 lbs., she packs a lot of attitude for a little dog...some nights she tries to push me out of my own bed. Rain, rain go away...oh wait, it's going away because I am going to Malta where it's 80*F and sunny, sunny, sunny! Send me your address if you would like a postcard...

Malta Jazz Festival

The Malta Jazz Festival will this year feature a 'legendary line-up':

The Malta Jazz Festival will run from July 21 to 23 and is to be set in the majestic Grand Harbour. This year there will be a broader musical palette which will involve musical styles that have a more immediate appeal, yet these will feature alongside the stricter jazz orthodox style that always has and always will play a prominent role in the Malta Jazz Festival (MJF). As in the past, legendary names will grace the MJF with luminaries such as Percy Jones, Bill Bruford and Tim Garland sharing the stage with local artists Kris Spiteri and his band Noir and percussionist Renzo Spiteri. The original Blues Brothers lineup will create a soulful atmosphere together with Thabani, while the Alan Parsons Live Project will close the festival with a set of rock standards...Also for the first time in its history, the organisation of the Malta Jazz Festival (MJF) will be entrusted in private hands, those of NnG Promotions...

TECOM

TECOM notches up another investment in Malta. From ITP Technology:

TECOM Investments and the Dubai Investment Group (DIG), both members of Dubai Holding, have announced the acquisition of a 60% controlling stake in the Maltese telecoms company, Maltacom. The final purchase price was quoted at AED1.04 billion (US$287 million).

“TECOM’s investment in Maltacom is aimed at leveraging Malta’s growth potential and geographic location as well as our experience in successfully establishing and growing ICT clusters,” said Ahmed Bin Byat, chairman of TECOM. “It has provided us with an ideal opportunity to become the focal point for the expansion of the ICT sector in the Mediterranean region.”..

Earlier this month Bin Byat was quoted as saying TECOM’s goal is to have 20 million subscribers outside of the UAE in four years. TECOM also has aggressive plans for exporting its ‘Smart City’ IT free zone cluster concept abroad, and in addition to plans for smart cities in India and Malta, Bin Byat says the firm is in negotiations with three more countries all of which will reach completion by 2010...

Who is afraid of divorce?

Pauline Miceli and Jason Azzoppardi discuss the pros and cons of divorce:

Malta remains one of the very few countries in the world where divorce is not legalised.The issue of divorce was first mentioned in the 1960’s when the then Labour Party led by Mr Mintoff battled for the separation of state and church. Civil marriage was one of the issues on the party’s agenda. As a child, then, I remember the parish priest preaching about how divorce would naturally follow civil marriage with all its inherent evil. Civil marriage was at last introduced in 1975. This marked the beginning of secularisation in Malta, rather late when one considers that many European countries had gone through this centuries earlier. The harsh and bitter experience suffered by the Labour party supporters left the party wary. Divorce became the unmentionable issue...

Letter to the Prime Minister

The Journalists' Committee has urged the Prime Minister to act swiftly against the rising threat of racism. Mark Micallef reports for The Times - that's me in the picture next to Peppi:

Journalists and media people yesterday reaffirmed their fundamental right to freedom of expression in the face of the recent arson attacks while presenting the Prime Minister with a petition calling on the authorities to give priority to the matter before it precipitates further. The petition, signed by about 60 people from the local press, comes in the wake of the latest arson attacks on the residence of columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia and MaltaToday editor Saviour Balzan..

Addressing the press outside the Prime Minister's office, in Valletta, Karl Schembri, spokesman for the Journalists' Committee, which organised the event, called on the Prime Minister to step in to ensure that freedom of expression is guaranteed and journalists are protected from "cowardly criminals" whose only aim is to stifle the democratic process. "The latest attack on Ms Caruana Galizia's residence can be said to have been a predictable assault, as we feel there will be others on members of the press that take a stand against racism," Mr Schembri said.

Reading from the petition, he said this is a position stated responsibly and in view of a series of attacks carried out against an editor, an author, a lawyer who works with refugees and the Jesuits. "On our part," the petition ends, "we reaffirm our commitment against racial hatred. While we call on all forms of racist and violent incitement which is leading to the situation of terror to stop we insist that these acts will not shut us up and much less will they change our views on the fundamental principle of freedom of speech."

My report of the event in today's l-orizzont

Faniello in Athens

Over 400 Maltese nationals are expected to head to Athens over the next few days for the Eurovision Song Contest which will be held there on Saturday 20 May, writes MaltaMedia's Giselle Borg Olivier. Fabrizio Faniello and the Maltese delegation are preparing for the finalist rehearsals this week. Toni Sant will report live from Athens:

Fabrizio is already in Greece, but hundreds of fans have already had the chance to cheer him on at the now traditional farewell event held in Bay Street on May 7. The event helped to raise vital funds for the British charity The Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Fabrizio made a star-studded entrance to the Bay Street Rotunda, whereupon he was inundated with fan requests for autographs. The Maltese star thanked everyone for the warm farewell before leaving them with a live rendition of his Eurovision Song Contest entry 'I do'.

Hopes are riding high that he can make it to even greater international celebrity status through his second appearance at the contest, supported by hundreds of dedicated fans in Athens. MaltaMedia will provide special coverage from Athens as from Monday with live reports from Toni Sant, MaltaMedia’s creative director...

Follow events in Athens on EurovisionMalta

Muscat's Pastizzeria

in Zaqqu Mimlijja, Glen Galea blogs about food, restaurants and cooking. In this entry he gives an account of Muscat's pastizzeria well known to Msida residents and especially to students at Junior College:

anyone who remembers his junior college days or like me my higher secondary days mostly spent at white arrow or else people walking down from the hospital having visited some sick relative or else returning home after a wasted morning and early afternoon waiting in the outpatients ward at st' luke's must have at some point taken their taste at muscat's pastizzeria's glorious pizza

having to catch the bus home from university i usually walk down to msida to catch it from there the walk is downhill plus the buses pass even more frequently but more importantly a corner away from the msida marina old people's home whose steps serve as seats for people waiting on the bus stop you find muscat's...

Media Scrape

The first global information network using Web technology to deliver free, all-video broadcast news clips, has launched at www.MediaScrape.com. From the Media network Weblog:

MediaScrape says it's the first Internet TV News Network to digitize analogue TV broadcasts in a format that is 100 percent high quality video, on-demand, translated on location, interactive, free, searchable and archived. "This is a breakthrough in news information as MediaScrape delivers all foreign clips from the Americas, Africa, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific in their original format and language, providing a virtual platform for multi perspectives on single issues and unbiased top world and regional stories," said Tyler N Cavell, Founder and Chief Operating Officer of MediaScrape.

Updated every 30 minutes, 24-hours a day, MediaScrape gives users full control on the way they receive their news. The play-all function enables viewers to watch 10-12 minutes of top world and regional story clips; play an hour and a half loop of daily news video clips; or use on-demand, where clips are drilled down by region and country. "Because MediaScrape will be fully sponsored by advertisements we are able to offer its Internet video services free of charge to the public," said Cavell. "MediaScrape strives to improve information flow between people, catering to the young cyber population, immigrant populations as well as the Bloomberg generation interested in live foreign investment breaking news, interactivity and global trade...

Pirandello's Malta

Sicilian writer Luigi Pirandello was fond of Malta according to Giuseppe Pace Asciak's Il riflesso di Malta in una pagina pirandelliana.Via inutile de déjeuner :

..Che Malta abbia avuto un posto particolare nel cuore di Luigi Pirandello risulta anche dal fatto che il primo biografo dell'autore, Federico Vittore Nardelli, fornisce una personale descrizione dell'Isola, nutrita però di elementi tratti dalla rielaborazione pirandelliana del racconto materno: "L'isola, tu la vedi ancor oggi turrita e glabra, con un dissenso evidentissimo tra l'aspetto esteriore e la creta intima. Chi v'arrivi dal mare scorge uno scenario di muraglie grige, come la chiusa di giardini pensili favolosi; e tra gli alti ripari penetrando nell'insenature cilestri approda al cuore stesso delle terre."

Professor Rino Caputo says that the importance Pirandello attaches to Malta is of an archetypal nature:

In a particularly decisive moment of his life, at the beginning of the First World War, in August of 1915, Pirandello writes Il colloquio con i personaggi in which he imagines that the ghost of his dead mother is trying to alleviate her son’s sorrows by talking to him. But what exactly is she talking about? Not her own death, but rather the typically pirandellian notion that the son feels lost precisely because his mother no longer exists. The son’s sense of loss can obviously be linked to Pirandello’s idea of the six characters in search of an author. The presence of the mother in Taviani’s Kaos can therefore be construed as being practically an exact philological representation of Pirandello’s literary text. Moreover, the film then moves from the vertical or synchronic moment of the phantasmatic apparition of the mother to the diachronic moment, or the flashback, in which Pirandello’s dead mother evokes images of herself as she is forced to go into exile together with the other members of her family. So on a small boat, the little girl embarks on a journey from Sicily to Malta where her family seeks refuge. In the eyes of the child such an experience is transfigured into a journey of mythic proportions.

Europe Day

Malta nghaqdet mal-pajjizi ta’ l-Unjoni Ewropea biex tfakkar Jum l-Ewropa li jfakkar f’meta fl-1950 kienet ffirmata d-dikjarazzjoni ta’ l-eks Ministru Franciz Robert Schuman li serviet bhala pedament ghat-twaqqif ta’ l-Unjoni Ewropea. Minn l-orizzont:

Ghal din l-okkazjoni li saret taht il-patrocinju tal-Presidenza Awstrijaka ta’ l-Unjoni Ewropea, saru numru ta’ attivitajiet fosthom dibattitu ma’ l-istudenti dwar l-Ewropa f’Dar il-Mediterran u qari ta’ stejjer dwar temi Ewropej fi Pjazza Regina. L-attivitajiet lahqu l-qofol taghhom b’cerimonja tat-tlugh tal-bnadar Ewropej u l-qari tad-Dikjarazzjoni ta’ Schuman quddiem il-Palazz fi Pjazza San Gorg..

Ftit qabel nofs in-nhar f’27 belt kapitali madwar l-Ewropa li jinkludu Sofija u Bukarest, il-pubbliku nghata c-cans li jduq ftit mid-diversità kulturali ta’ l-Ewropa permezz ta’ qari ta’ letteratura kif ukoll permezz ta’ helu tradizzjonali li kien servut lil dawk li kienu prezenti. Dan l-avveniment, imsejjah Cafè d’Europe, sar f’kafetteriji maghzulin fi bliet Ewropej bil-parte-cipazzjoni ta’ kittieba maghrufin fosthom Vaclav Havel fi Praga, Eva Demski f’Berlin u Timothy Garton Ash f’Londra..

Fl-okkazjoni ta’ Jum l-Ewropa tqassmet madwar l-ibliet Ewropej edizzjoni specjali tal-gazzetta Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung b’artiklu dwar kull pajjiz membru ta’ l-Unjoni Ewropea. Fl-artiklu dwar Malta, l-artikolist Heinz-Joachim Fischer jikteb b’mod simplistiku u negattiv dwar l-istorja ta’ Malta u b’mod partikolari fil-konfront tal-Partit Laburista...

More from MaltaMedia

More European funding

After 18 months of reflection, Maltastar is back with a bang. In the first edition, david vella writes that as a member of the European Union, Malta can do more to benefit from European funds:

As Malta enters its third year as a full member of the European Union, there seems to be an increased conviction that the Maltese can do much more to benefit from European funds. This is one of the issues that emerge from comments made by Malta’s top brass in EU corridors in Malta and Brussels, in reply to maltastar’s questions about the highs and lows of Malta and the EU in the last 12 months. An important development was the European Parliament’s resolution emphasising the EU’s responsibility to share in shouldering Malta’s immigration burdens. The finalising of the EU’s Budget for 2007-2013 was hailed as an important step forward, as was the European Parliament’s decision to block the Port Workers’ Directive...

Birkirkara FC win the football league

Birkirkara FC claimed the Maltese title for the second time in their history at the weekend as Sliema Wanderers FC missed out on a fourth successive crown. From UEFA.com:

In front of a healthy crowd at the National stadium, Birkirkara won 1-0 against Hibernians FC on Sunday thanks to an Etienne Barbara penalty three minutes from time, but they had already claimed the title with their only remaining rivals, Sliema, being held to a 3-3 draw by Mside St. Joseph FC on Saturday.

"I'm overjoyed," Birkirkara president Victor Zammit told uefa.com. "This second title means a lot to me and the club. It couldn't have come at a better time as I am celebrating my tenth year in charge of Birkirkara. After finishing as runners-up for so many times in recent seasons, we have finally won."

Birkirkara will host a special celebration next Sunday at the National stadium as they take on deposed champions Sliema in the final Maltese Premier League fixture of the 2005/06 season. They will be presented with the trophy at the end of the match.

Quality journalism

Lack of training for aspiring journalists and the absence of accountability were among the major problems raised in a seminar organised by the Fondazzjoni Mikiel Anton Vassalli at the National Labour Centre yesterday, writes Gerald Fenech:

Opening the seminar, Labour MP Evarist Bartolo said that journalism was not being taught at university and if the medium is not strengthened we risk losing our quest for information. He said that with the current structure of media ownership (political parties and business), it was admittedly hard to bring about change. Maltastar coordinator Alfred Grixti said that the public broadcasting system should be modelled on the style of the BBC, which was always fair and impartial. He complained about the orchestration of news by the independent media against the Labour Party where news is often pushed aside or omitted altogether.

Di-ve journalist Paul Cachia said that journalism must be critical, enthusiastic and accurate. He said it was important to distinguish between reporters and investigative journalists adding that both have different responsibilities and ethics were of the utmost importance for credible reporting. The Times journalist Mark Micallef contended that the independent media was drifting around without a soul with very few journalists willing to stand up and be counted. He said there was need for more investigative and courageous journalism because if we remain imprisoned in a cage of fear then we cannot hope to move forward in this field...

US - Malta relations

Vanessa Macdonald spoke to US Ambassador to Malta about US - Malta affairs, 'some of which were brought up with her three predecessors and are still pending'. From the official US-Malta site:

Are you happy with the level of trade between the US and Malta? It currently represents 15.1 per cent of total exports from Malta (Lm113.2m down from Lm141.8m in 2004).

There are already many American firms here, employing around 3,000 Maltese, which is fairly significant. There is also American investment through franchises and exclusive representations. However, there is room for development in terms of trade, American investment and American presence in terms of companies. On the export side, we might see increases as, for the first time, American shipping lines are going through the Freeport.

The list of American companies represented here tends to be very high value-added like Baxter, Cardinal or Hetronic. Does this mean they have a good chance of staying on in Malta?

Absolutely. The Maltese workforce is very well educated, well trained and English speaking. This is why they are here for the long-term and why companies like Hetronic are looking at additional investment and employment. This trend will continue. In addition, 60 per cent of the tenants in the Dubai SmartCity are American electronic firms and high-tech firms. If SmartCity is successful here, it would attract these types of companies...

Maltese literary expectations

Discussing the contemporary writing scene in Malta, Maria Grech Ganado says that never has there been so much literary ferment in the Maltese islands since the sixties. From LauraHird.com:

..The sixties had broken with the themes and influence of the first wave of national, religious and sentimental love, to replace it with a political and existential one which addressed these themes from a confrontational perspective.

There were exceptions in both waves, of course, but the major names which have lived on or been revived are those of Gwann Mamo, Dun Karm Psaila (the national poet), Ruzar Briffa, George Pisani, Anton Buttigieg, Mary Meilak, Marjanu Vella – and for the second wave, Oliver Friggieri, Joe Friggieri, Mario Azzopardi, Daniel Massa, Doreen Micallef, Victor Fenech, Trevor Zahra, Achille Mizzi and, if I were to cover theatre which I am not going to do, Frans Ebejer.

Many of these last named don’t write anymore – or have moved to a different form of artistic expression. However, there is a growing number of young Maltese who have already made a name for themselves, despite the fact that it is extremely difficult for new writers to have prose published, and virtually impossible when they write poetry.

Thinking big

This is a moment of opportunity for any small European country prepared to think big, writes Timothy Garton Ash in today's Guardian:

There's a lot to be said for being small. Small countries generally don't start wars. They usually don't have the arrogance of larger states. Besides modesty and intimacy, they often enjoy a high level of social solidarity. The nation is like an extended family. And, particularly in the favourable conditions of contemporary Europe, they can do well by their citizens..Seven of the world's top 10 in the human development index - the combined measure of health, education and gross domestic product per capita - are small European countries..

There are also disadvantages. The transaction costs of small states can be high. An extreme example is Bosnia. Under its present, Byzantine constitutional arrangements, it expends 70% of its budget just on paying its politicians and officials. There are also high transaction costs for cooperation between many small states: look at the EU's budget for interpretation. Provincialism can be the flipside of modesty. In international relations, small countries can be fearful of confronting larger neighbours who are behaving badly..

I don't want to overstate the case. There are obvious drawbacks to an EU of ever more small states. You only have to look at the size of the European leaders' conference table in Brussels to see that no one could ever have a proper discussion around it. But, like it or not, this larger EU of smaller states is a fact. It's an illusion to think that it will be made to work by a directorate of the three largest states, Germany, France and Britain. It's an equal and opposite illusion to think that it will be made to work by the EU becoming a single federal state. Both those moments have passed..

In the long run, the EU will only move forward in any given policy area if there is a strategic coalition of the willing that includes the key big states and some small states. Nothing will happen unless the big states agree to it; equally, nothing will happen if only the big ones support it. This is a moment of opportunity for any small European country prepared to think big

Powerboat thrills in Malta

In mid-May, the normally placid and tranquil waters of Malta will become a churning maelstrom of activity as the Powerboat P1 championships scream into town. From TravelBite:

The adrenaline filled event is kicking off its new season in Malta, having successfully hosted races there in 2005. Malta's rich maritime heritage and picturesque harbour buildings provide an ideal backdrop to a glitzy, crowd-pulling event such as P1. This year and for the next two years, Malta will hold two rounds of the championship at the spectacular Grand Harbour of Valletta. Between May 12th and 14th, thousands of boat and speed fans will descend on Malta for the nail-biting grand prix.

There will also be an additional event, where racers will attempt to break the record for speeding round the island of Malta. If you arrive early, it is worth taking time to explore Malta's striking, sun-drenched buildings, gardens and restaurants. But for the race itself, you are advised to get down to the promenade in Silema, where you will get the best view of the super-fast action. Like every great grand prix, there is a carnival atmosphere that accompanies the race experience, with the opportunity to take walks through the pits and see the racers and their mean machines...

New committee for Maltese journalists

A new Committee for Maltese Journalists will be campaigning for a Freedom of Information Act, a Whistleblower Act, an overhaul of the Press Act and libel laws, and plans to organise a national seminar on Freedom of Information this year:

A new organization is to be set up on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, by journalists from the majority of Maltese media organizations. The Journalists’ Committee is being formed to fight for journalists' rights and defend press freedoms. he Journalists' Committee is made up of working journalists, editors, freelance writers, and opinion makers who share the democratic ideals of the free press..

On a day to day basis, the Committee will be monitoring statements made by public figures concerning journalism and freedom of the press and about its members, new laws, regulations and decisions of government and public institutions that are of relevance to journalism, pending libel cases, court decisions and sentences.

"On this day, we join thousands of colleagues worldwide in honouring the sacrifices made for freedom of the press, and in reminding governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of _expression as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," said Committee spokesman Massimo Farrugia..

Aging rock stars

Sabine Cassar Alpert in Gozo who blogs here writes about three former mega rock stars, who might "still be good enough to squeeze some money out of Maltese fans before vanishing into oblivion":

..On the other hand, aging rock fans (yep, that’s me ) will be over the moon to be given the last few chances to enjoy a renaissance of their youth before that, too… um, yes, vanishes into oblivion! Just a few days ago Roger Waters’ concert was announced for the 28th June 2006, taking place at the Luxol Grounds in Naxxar. He’s being brought over by NnG Promotions, who also gave us the Classic Rock Concert (featuring Roger Hodgson, Jethro Tull, Steve Hackett and Fish) two years ago.

Sting’s concert on the 6th June (also at Luxol Grounds) was the first great Malta gig to be announced earlier this year (see my blog from February), is being organised by NnG Promotions as well. Today’s Times of Malta, finally, brought the news of Sir Bob Geldof coming to Malta on the 10th July 2006. According to the article, Geldof has “pledged his support to YMCA, and the Malta event aims to raise awareness of the plight of the homeless in Malta.” So apart from enjoying yourself, you’ll help a good cause by attending! The venue is still to be announced.