Jackie Britton Blog: 10th week in Malta

Monday: Another glorious day…with temperatures reaching 35 degrees….and even 29 degrees in the evening, which I love, they are warm with a slight breeze and it’s great going out in a summer dress and eating al fresco by the sea. Most of the beach bars have TV screen/s up now to watch the world cup matches….so you can sit on or by the beach and watch TV! Obviously England is out of the running….but it’s good to see some of the underdogs coming through with some good football and goals. Who’s going to win? …..With the little knowledge I have of football, I think one of the South American teams or Holland!

It’s getting busy now …even our little beach we go to - which is a bit of a walk or a car ride away (ie. not one of the main beaches that is on a bus route) is getting busy, although around 5pm people start leaving the beach and that’s the best time ever, to take a picnic, swim or read and watch the sun go down. The school children break up the end of June, although they usually go to the bigger beaches that are easy assessable by bus. The national transport (Arriva Buses) is a good service. There are no trains on the island ….well only a miniature one that takes you around Mdina! Most young people have cars, as in the UK and you see a lot of really old cars like Hillman Imps and Cortina’s – usually driven by older people. The road system is getting better, there are new bypasses and ongoing work on the roads, it’s a slow process as some of the roads are appalling, John calls them ‘Luftwaffe’ roads as they are uneven and bumpy as hell. It all adds to the fun! Saviour, Marisa’s brother in law, has let us borrow a Chevrolet – a nice car which is very welcome when we want to go further afield, go shopping or go pick people up from the airport.

Tuesday: John and Jan have gone up in a Cessna plane for a ride around Malta. This is the second time John has been up up and away…..a first for Jan, who was a little nervous but exited. Matthew Grech, the pilot, is building up his hours to become a commercial pilot, which involves night flying aswell. Although only 21, he is an accomplished young man. John was piloting the plane when he flew above the villa in Mellieha….he circled a few times, which I thought was quite low, and although I was waving like mad, I later found out that he couldn’t see me! Jan, Pamela, John and Matthew enjoyed it immensely - but I ‘chickened out’ as the confined space and heat wouldn’t have agreed with me. (Confined spaces have a starring role in my nightmares whether in a lift or deep in the ocean trapped in a ship that sinking. I try to overcome it…but find it difficult. The worst thing is when John books a room on the 9^th floor in a hotel……...I have to walk up all those stairs as I can’t go in the lift!!!).

I enjoyed the morning to myself reading a book called ‘This Boy’, the first biography of Alan Johnson, a Labour MP who served as Home Secretary from June 2009 to May 2010 and before that filled a wide variety of cabinet positions in both Blair and Brown governments including Health Secretary and Education Secretary. He has served as an MP for Hull West and Hessle since 1997. I like him especially when on ‘Question Time’ on TV, as he is opinionated and honest and has known hardship. The book is about his deprived childhood growing up in London, being brought up predominantly by his sister, as his father had left home and his mother was constantly sick due to a heart condition in which she passed away when he was 12. This book takes him up to the age of 18 when he got married, and it shows that, not all Politian’s came from a privileged background. It’s the era that I was raised, albeit I am 2 years older than him …so lots of memories came flooding back. It’s a really good read and the sequel’s out in September…..which I have already ordered on my Kindle.

Wednesday: Jan and I are going to the beach to swim and sunbathe, as the little bay we go to by some boat houses, is rugged, quiet and beautiful. Not many people get down to it....and the sea is always alive there. It is stony and not sand but with swim shoes on...it's lovely. The fish come close to shore so if you snorkel, as Jan did, you can see loads of fish.

Thursday: It is our friend Jan’s last day with us as she flies home at 7am……so we left the villa at 5am to take her to the airport at Luqa. Thankfully the journey there and back, as it was early, was very cool. When I got back at 6.30am I decided to do some gardening before it got too hot! Not that I know how to prune palm trees and succulents like Yukka and Aloe Vera so Google comes in handy.

It is Stefanie’s birthday today so we skyped in the evening when she finished work, She is being taken out Saturday dancing with friends and family, and Sunday by her sister to see Stevie Wonder….whom I saw many years ago. He is remarkable and can play almost any instrument. I expect ‘Happy Birthday’ song will be sung! A verse of the song is dedicated to Stef!

'Cause we all know in our minds
That there ought to be a time
That we can set aside
To show just how much we love you

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you!

I love that song!

Friday: It’s Marisa’s birthday today and I made her a flower arrangement and a cake. She came round about mid-morning and had breakfast with us and then we all went to the beach! In the evening we had a Chinese meal in Rabat, with Marisa and Josef, which ended the day perfectly.

Saturday: The people in the villa next door have left so we can have use of the pool now. I am swimming everyday so the body is a little firmer….I guess it will go back to it’s usual shape again when I return to UK!

Sunday: We went to a market in Rabat as everything is cheap there but a good quality - I bought some shorts for 8 Euro’s. I love Rabat….with it’s narrow streets and big Church…is is also the home to the famous Catacombs …which were used in Roman times to bury the dead, as according to Roman culture, it was unhygienic to bury the dead in the big city. We finished the evening by going to Armier beach around 5pm, to sit and read, as most people leave around 5…..we took a picnic (which was our evening meal) and left when the sun went down. One of the waiters at the beach café Mambo, who we got to know last year and although we knew was leaving his job, told us it was his last day. We had already exchanged email addresses the last time we saw him so we will keep in touch with Patrick. Incidentially, he is going to manage an Italian restaurant in St Paul’s Bay - so we will definitely go there to eat sometime! We have got to know quite a few people since being here, and in my usual garrulous way (yes, I chat to anyone!) and I think waiters in bars like a chat, as they work around 14 hour shifts with only one day (if lucky) off a week…so a little banter is acceptable!

Whilst here, I have become quite an expert on Ants….so John thinks… ‘Ant’ology (is that a word?). I sit out in our little courtyard early morning and late at night watching them. I actually think they are ‘Garden Ants’ as they are found in many parts of Europe and they are huge (well – 6 times as big as our Ants in the UK). They can condense all 3 sections of their body into one when they think they are in danger, and then their pointy pincers come out to attack! They stay in one place all night, as still as can be, then I look at them in the morning and think they are dead …but, oh no, they are alive and start running away! Strange! I have seen 3 or 4 together in a huddle……what’s that about…are they having fun or fighting and interlocked! These Ants do not do what Ants usually do!!! (I am not mad only curious!). There are, obviously, different wildlife to UK, for instance, there are enormous flying insects with decorative fringed wings and when my Andrea, my daughter was here, she actually saw a bird swoop down, in flight, from the trees to eat it. I missed it as it happened too quick! Gecko’s pop out to get some much needed sun, and even a Chameleon ran through our courtyard and when he saw me…he puffed up every inch of his body to look big….I wasn’t impressed! The bees are big too but don’t bother you and although you hear the birds singing….you generally don’t see them during the day only early morning or late at night! The island is full of beetles, around 95 species but they are mainly harmless – as is the scorpion (which we have seen). Birds of prey are seen hovering high on the cliffs, but I have no idea what type they are. (There has been much talk about the situation in Malta regarding bird hunting. Two issues are at steak….Legalisation of the hunters by the government who are in defiance of the European Birds directive and secondly the other issue is poaching (over and above the legalisation!). What the Maltese Government need to do is sort out the illegalities of poachers and change their mind about making it legal to kill birds. (I can understand the argument about farmers not wanting the birds to eat their seeds or crops…as they need their crops to flourish as it feeds the Maltese people….ie you can’t import everything – it costs too much money. It would be nice to see more birds on the Island.

We have 2 weeks left on the island…..boo hoo! Believe me….we are going to make the most of it!