Jackie Britton Blog: June 2014

Monday 16^th…As mentioned in my previous blog…I said Au Revoir to Andrea and hello to Jan who has come over for a ‘well deserved’ break, her first time in Malta. We had 4 hours in between one flight and another so we decided to explore the west side of the island that we hadn’t been to before. We went to the Blue Grotto and Ghar Lapsi. We were pleasantly surprised when we got to Ghar Lapsi, as is a small rocky inlet and a popular beauty spot and used by some fishermen. In the summer, the inlet is perfect for snorkelling enthusiasts as it is a good entry point for divers. Local children take turns to dive into the deep water off the surrounding rocks where they have tied ropes around the rocks to jump in. There are a few flat rocky ledges to perch a towel on and no beach but the cave double up as shady areas….especially today as it was 32 degrees! The coastline is excellent rock climbing aswell. There are snack bars open during summer months in the boat houses, and a larger bar-restaurant open all year. Unfortunately in the winter of 2012, the cliffs around Għar Lapsi collapsed and the local council is in the process of still clearing away huge rocks.

We drove about l km and came to The Blue Grotto which is actually a number of sea caverns on the south coast in the village of Qrendi. It is located across from the small uninhabited islet of Filfla. Every day from sunrise until about 1 pm a unique sight can be observed here. The location of the cave combined with the sunlight lead to the water mirroring showing numerous shades of blue. Several caverns mirror the brilliant phosphorescent colours of the underwater flora; other caverns show a deep dark shade of blue. It is a popular destination for tourists with boat trips to visit the caves. It has local restaurants that offer good food and stunning views (we had lunch at one on the roof terrace). The location has been used many times by filmmakers, including a ‘Milky Way’ advert and scenes from the 2004 film called TROY and more recently, a local Maltese TV station filming a travel programme. It was lovely to see a part of Malta we hadn’t seen before.

We drove to the airport to pick up Jan whose plane was on time and we headed back to villa to chill out for the rest of the day. On Tuesday we walked into the local town to show Jan around and of course, took her to our local bar. Wednesday more of the same but drove around to local beaches and swam in the sea and relaxed in the sunshine. In the evening we walked down to our local beach bar which becomes a little different for the evening clients with subtle lights around palm trees a nd TV screens around the outside area with white armchairs and settees (for the World Cup) and inside a big screen with rows of comfortable chairs to watch the football in case of inclement weather. Thursday, we spent around the pool and catching up with a few chores and in the evening went to watch England play! Huh! What a boring game and what with John in my ears stating “they get too much money and what do they do…they don’t even run fast”….I wished I’d not watch it!

We decided to show our friend, Jan the capital ‘Valetta’ today (Friday) so we set off on the bus to Sliema….a bustling town besides a lovely walkway, where there are shops and a big shopping mall (which is different to Mellieha) and then took the ferry across to Valetta, which is a great way to get there as you see the magnificent architecture of the Grand Harbour. It was a hot day but in Valetta there are loads of buildings to shelter you for walking around. The back streets in Valetta are steep with loads of steps going to the next level. If there are shops there they have beautiful colourful pot plants and palm trees to set the scene.

Malta has some fascinating places to visit and 7,000 years of history – if you don’t just want to sit on the beach, but it’s nice to have a mixture of the two. The food and wine is good too - these small islands do have a cuisine of their own with the influence of Italy (& Sicily) and North Africa. Maltese cooking is governed primarily by the produce grown on the islands, producing dishes that are indigenous to the islands and local waters. Although vegetables such as asparagus, brussel sprouts and fruits such as kiwi and pineapples can be readily found in shops now….this is comparatively recent. Rabbit is found on the menu (which are farmed here) and Bragioli (which is a local dish made from slices of topside beef, pork, onion, carrots, hard boiled eggs, breadcrumbs, bacon, cloves, parsley and red wine). The beef is flattened and all the ingredients wrapped up inside and simmered in red wine………John loves them!). You can make the most of Artichokes, Aubergines and Zucchini (a round small marrow) which is plentyful in Malta. They make soups such as Kawlata Minestra (like Minestrone) with dried beans, vegetables and pasta, amongst other soups that include Goats cheese and Riccotta being added once the soup is made. The local fish is really tasty and cheap and is often served on it’s own in a garlic and butter sauce with Maltese bread on the side. (The bread is made from sour dough and has a crisp crust!). The main fish is caught here is Lampuki (the fisherman have caught this fish in the same manner since roman times…….by gathering the large fronds from the palm trees which they plait into flat rafts. These are taken out to sea and floated and the Lampuki gather beneath them where they are quickly encircled with nets and caught. The waters around Malta are abundant with Tuna, Swordifsh, Red Mullet, Seabass, Grouper and Skate……so plenty to choose from.

The wines are superb, produced by two major wineries – Marsovin and Emanuel Delicata (Both produce Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon from imported grapes aswell). The wines are inexpensive and best drunk when young. The local beer (which John also loves) is called Cisk and is lovely to drink on a hot day - you can, of course, get most other European drinks but are more expensive than local beers and wines. You can eat, drink and be merry on very little! Have I convinced you to visit yet?

Saturday came and went ….we had a lazy day and early night as Sunday we got up early to go to a market in Rabat. The Feast of St Paul is taking place all week in Rabat with it’s highly coloured streets with banners and large religious statutes and children all in what looks like ‘tiny brides’ taking first communion. Every detail is present with veils and mini long wedding dresses with shoes to match. I haven’t quite got used to this yet but it very much part of the Catholic religion here.

The name of the village (Rabat)is derived from the Arabic word for 'suburb'as it was the suburb of the old capital Mdina. The village shares a name with the capital of Morocco.

Our 10^th week begins with Jan staying a few more days………another fantastic week!

Ghar Lapsi

Blue Grotto

Maya Beach Bar

Johnny with one of his

favourite tipples!

Sunset....walking to the beach bar!

Jan cleaning the pool!

Jan flaked out after cleaning the pool!

Walking in Sliema to get ferry across to Valetta (in the background)

View of The Grand Harbour Valetta (from Sliema)

Jan looking at Grand Harbour

Statue in the Grand Masters Palace

A stop for a drink by the Grand Harbour

Rabat - The Feast of St Paul

People attending church on Sunday on the Feast of St Paul

A street in Mdina

The Grand Masters Palace in Valetta

Monday: I turned my thoughts to my grandchildren…..although 3 months is a short time to be away…a lot has happened to my youngest grandchild’s life. Nancy has got 6 teeth….started crawling - started standing up on furniture….started to talk and chuckle like mad! She also had a few days in hospital with an infection but, I am happy to say, she is fine now. I think Jo, her mum, is tired as she chases her around the rooms all day! Ruby May turned 10 years old and went to Chessington Zoo on her birthday but I will be home for Indi (who’s going to be 6 years old) and Rive’s birthday –I can’t believe he is going to be 17! He wants to learn to drive so is saving like mad for lessons…which I am told cost anything up to £99. The whole of my 12 lessons cost £99 in 1976!! It’s great to be able to Skype each other and have a chat. We only know 5 people in Malta…which is Marisa and her family and Hans – a guy we stayed with once with AirBnB. Marisa pops down for coffee if we are around and we go upstairs to her apartment as well. She is there on her own quite a lot as both her kids are out all day so she loves the company. When she goes to her partners house, in Mosta, which they renovating (they will move in together at some point) she asks if we want to go and it’s lovely as we always see some part of Mosta we have never seen before. They have the famous Mosta Church, (where a bomb landed during the WW2) and there is a really good market there too. The narrow streets are full of character. Of course we chat to some of the bar staff at the beach bars we go to who are very friendly and courteous -they are hard working especially now as it’s getting busy with those pesky tourists. We have also been lucky enough to have visitors….Jenny and Ian and Julie and Mick from our village came out for 6 days; we’ve had loads of laughs and good times together.

Tuesday, we went to the beach….after a restful day yesterday and had a swim in the sea! It was cold to begin with but after swimming for 2 minutes it got warm and felt good…... mind you, your body goes numb anyway! It’s a sandy bay but since the storms, heaps of seaweed has been chucked on the shore but the council have started to clear it now - I hope they are recycling it! When your swimming, every now and then you get these extra waves of warmness (is that a word!). I really don’t know why that happens……even John doesn’t know!! Anyway, I love those warm bits! Wednesday I went to the hairdressers in Mosta to have my colour done….as the sun and swimming in the pool turns it into straw! I was pleased with the result and it cost me 27 Euros instead of £60+ in UK. On Thursday it was our first wedding Anniversary, it was 6.30pm when we tied the knot last year! Reflecting, we have had a great year – a new beautiful grandchild (Nancy), visiting our family in the West Country and Spain, where my brother and his wife live (their house is phenomenal and the surrounding areas and mountains are stunning - Spain is a beautiful country and we want to explore it more). We have done so much in a year ….and the honeymoon is still not over! We got ‘wined and dined’ in the evening by our Maltese friends, Marisa and Josef who wanted us to remember our first anniversary in Malta. We went to a restaurant called ‘The Lord Nelson’ which has won the ‘Good Food in Malta ’ award for 13 consecutive years and Certificate of Excellence Trip Advisor winner and you can see why - we had great food. The owners love what they are doing and told us they couldn’t possible open another restaurant as they couldn’t be in both at the same time…as they want to deliver the personal customer service. (By the way….the owner is a cousin of Josef’s so we had extra special treatment). If you come to Malta…you must go to this restaurant.

The name Lord Nelson was probably adopted, during the years following the 2nd World War, as a mark of respect to the many British Service Personnel who came to live in this, then, small village. In the cellar there is evidence of tunnels that have been hewn out of the rock by hand.
One such tunnel crossed under the road to number 6/8 St Anne's Street. Architecturally, however, the style of the building suggests an earlier start, possibly the 18th century. There are the remains of an ornate well head in what used to be a large courtyard, the building which goes back a block in St Anne's Street once formed part of this house. Together with the very fine statue of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception on the St Anne's Street corner this indicates that the house could have been built for a village dignitary. The current owners family took over the business in 1960 and operated a wine bar and wholesale tobacconist here. In one of the rooms on the ground floor, then a separate premise, an uncle had a business filling cartridges with gun powder. Later on local firework enthusiasts began holding their meetings in an upstairs room, and went on to become one of the leading clubs of Malta, forming the 15th August Pyrotechnics Society in 1983, Jimmy Camillieri (owner) is a founder member.

Friday was partly restful as in the afternoon we cleaned the villa and made up the spare room in preparation of our friend’s arriving tomorrow. Saturday we went shopping early and walked back to the villa…then another walk down to our beach bar for a lunchtime drink of fresh orange juice for me and Cisk for John. We are doing a lot of walking! I also have a little project ….to rearrange the garden in our part of the villa. There are a lot of dead flowers in the borders around our courtyard so I am going to make a rockery and am acquiring cuttings from here and there to plant up when ready. John and I collected big stones from the beach for the rockery that I intend to build.

Sunday – We went to the airport as our friends flew in just after midnight. In the morning we took a stroll into Mellieha and Mellieha Church with our friends to show them where we were and just meandered the rest of day…..stopping off at the beach bar, of course. A lovely day with Julie and Mick and an end to our 6^th week in Malta. The next day (Monday) we borrowed a car and took them to Mdina (The Silent City) which is set high on a hill and positively buzzing with history.

Mdina Cathedral is dated back to AD60 - if not before as this was the first church documented. The Cathedral was destroyed by an earthquake in 1693, only the Apse survived. (Apse is the semi circular/vault where the Alter is usually placed). The new building started in 1697 by Architect Lorenzo Gafa and in his wisdom had already decided to strengthen the building as he had already a wealth of experience as he was 58 years old at that time. He struck a balance between the light-hearted earlier churches and the ponderous…with richly ornamental mouldings and an amazing central window and a patchwork of multi-coloured marble gaudy slabs for the floor. The Cathedral has a nave ceiling painted in fresco in 1794 with scenes from the life of St Paul (whom the church is dedicated to).

A little note of interest…..to connect London and Malta together.....the two cannons outside the Cathedral that date from 17^th century, were once taken to London (together with other historical objects) for display at the Artillery Museum in Woolwich (1988). After all that culture we decided to go to the Ta’ Qali, craft village. Julie and Mick could see the local crafts that Malta produces and I could look at the pottery shop,as I wanted to purchase a large box of broken tiles to make a mosaic….I do have a few ideas of what to do with them. We drove them around the bays in the north of the island…but it was so windy we didn't stay long, but a joy to see the sea being whipped up with so much energy as it’s usually calm.

Tuesday the weather is still very windy and cloudy – it’s a shame that the weather had changed, but our friends took it in their stride. We decided to go by bus to Valetta (Capital) as one hour on an air conditioned bus and your there. We walked around the main and side streets, then had lunch overlooking some amazing buildings beside the sea and thought we would get the ferry across to Sliema….but when we got to the quay - it wasn’t running due to the windy conditions, so back to get the bus. The fearsome wind subsided so after our journey home, we went to watch the sun go down at our beach bar….another lovely day with lots of laughs and ‘knocked out’ due to the wind. Wednesday….their last day, we took it easy sunbathing, as the wind subsided and went out in the evening, with Marisa and Josef, to the restaurant where we got married. Julie and Mick couldn’t come to our wedding and they wanted to see the old flour mill that they had seen in our photographs and it was a nice way to end their holiday and have a Maltese evening with food and dance. On Thursday we took them to the airport and the plane that was taking them home bought in Andrea for a week…so that worked out well. It was hot today, which Andrea was pleased about, but our friends loved ‘the taste of Malta’ we showed them and said they would be back to see more.

What was to come - no one could possibly imagine as after a few nice days relaxing and going to the beach, on Sunday Andrea was taken into hospital with acute pain and was kept in until Monday afternoon. After extensive examinations, the Consultant wanted to see her again, but she told them she was going home on Wednesday so they gave her an extensive report (which was more than Lewisham Hospital ever did in the 4 years she has been under them). She didn’t return Wednesday as she was still unwell - so we did some thinking and spoke to Marisa and made an appointment to see the Consultant in his private clinic, whom she saw at the hospital and the end result was that she will see him, early in July, to have an operation to rectify her problems before it happens again (and it will!)

Malta healthcare is 5^th ranking in the World and Europe opposed to UK being 12^th(I guess because of the small population and a ‘State of the Art’ hospital built 4 years ago) – and with the EHIC arrangements within the European Community….it is fine to be treated in Malta). I am happy to report that she is feeling better after plenty of rest in the sunshine…..and with pain killers will return to the UK Monday 16th to clear up her workload at home before returning for her operation early in July. Andrea has been a great help, in her convalescence, in helping John create a new website (for the family villas where we are staying) using Wordpress. He has been a great pupil and embraced the new technology….so well done Johnny and thank you Andrea!

Monday 16^th June…We go to airport to say Au Revoir to Andrea and pick up our friend Jan who has flown in from Plymouth – her first visit to Malta, as although invited to our wedding, couldn’t come due to work commitments. It will be lovely to have her with us for a while.

My goats chees on Aubergine with prunes!