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Latest Posts
- Summer Impressions
- Not sure what these 2 pictures have in common, but it looks funny
- Enjoying a walk in the countryside amidst pleasant surroundings.
- Ghain Tuffieha and the Self-Appointed Parking Man
- Montenegro/ Zabbar: a must-go for the latest club wear and casual wear.
- Findings in the Prehistoric Museum in the South
- Balloons
- What one finds inside Maltese Houses (example)
- Business Opportunity: Kiosk
- oh. the neighbour sings again.
- Levitation of St. Paul, as seen today. © Gina Levante
- Fierce Winds
- January Sky
- Why do we love the aesthetics of old quarries and machinery?
- 2 of the Many Things Saints have at their Feet
- The retired Inspector reports about a past murder – including Christian comparisons
- Birzebbuga double murder: AA B CD
- Only some cats
- Time for some Landscape Pictures
- Harbour Cruise
- Why church clocks indicate the wrong time.
- Street Signs
- Warning
- Cart Ruts
- Recap Festa Season
- Taxi and Undertaker – why not, after all, it’s just a ride.
- Heaven*s Door
- Continuation: the fascination with the South of the Island
- In a village in the south, life evolves around the sea. In the north as well, but in the south it seems more spectacular
- The boss….
- Mlata and its boats
- At night all women are alike. … and other Proverbs about Sex and Love
- The “Mlatese Dog” is one of the oldest breeds in the world.
- After the procession, business as usual
- .
- More summer
- Summer!!!
- Again… festa nights
- Cliff section crashed into sea
- In the Insectmuseum
- All Items served with Salad
- The Syrians gather at the southern part of Mlata and dance
- Leave the birds alone
- Saints of Mlata protect you wherever you go
- Moonstone Fragment
- Boat meets Island
- Festa Summer Nights – 2
- Inside and Outside the Burger Stand
- Festa Summer Nights
- Statue waiting for its Festa
Summer Impressions
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Not sure what these 2 pictures have in common, but it looks funny
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Enjoying a walk in the countryside amidst pleasant surroundings.
Posted in Uncategorized
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Montenegro/ Zabbar: a must-go for the latest club wear and casual wear.
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Findings in the Prehistoric Museum in the South
I went to Birzebuggia in the South to visit the world famous museum of Ghar Dalam – the cave of darkness.
As I approached the cave, a sign warns me of harmless earth bees, which made me a bit weary. Nothing happened, though. I did not see a single bee, maybe they were all out doing business.
More interesting than the actual cave (which is nice and fresh in summer, though, better than airconditioning) are the exhibition rooms. Huge wooden display cabinets present the bone fragments that were found in the cave. These findings are displayed in such an aesthetic way it makes the visitors feel unorganized.
The second room looks more like the control station of a prehistoric science fiction movie. Nice painting add to the feeling of floating in space-time. It thus fits to think that Neandertal remains were found in Malta. This was proven wrong quickly after. However, the evidence, the evidence… talking about evidence: remains were found of a very small deer (deer, not dear) – the illustration rocks! and of a giant door mouse. No illustrations for larger dwarf elephant or door mouse, though.
After a visit to the Museum, we recommend a drink at the near-by bar.
Posted in Birzebuggia, Civilization, History, Museum, Stone
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What one finds inside Maltese Houses (example)
Posted in Civilization, History, Housing, People, Valletta
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Business Opportunity: Kiosk
FOR SALE: Mobile Food Kiosk
Ref: MCN1295963960
Mobile food Kiosk ready to operate(1.5 mtr x 3.0 mtr)
Good condition and price
I also accept car as part of exchange
Posted in Cisk, Food, Icecream, Shops, Streetlife
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Levitation of St. Paul, as seen today. © Gina Levante
For those who could not make it, or those who could not see it, here an account of what happened today:
Gina Levante arrived in time (2:58pm) at St. Paul’s Island to set up her material and take sufficient time to meditate. Over the past years, she has developed a technique, which enables her to levitate inanimate objects, even heavy ones. To do this, she uses a combination of scientific tools and intuitive force.
For the Malta-levitation-edition, Gina had decided to levitate St. Paul’s statue. For sure, St. Paul’s feast has already passed. But his heritage is very much alive: Acts recounts that on the way to Rome for his appeal as a Roman citizen to Caesar, Paul was shipwrecked on “Melita” (Malta), where he was met by Publius and the islanders who showed him “unusual kindness”. Gina chose the little island that is known as “St Paul’s Island” and…
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Posted in Christianity, Heroes, Island
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January Sky
It is the time of the year when the sky is dark and full of black clouds and fierce winds blow your hair into your teeth. Everything about the outside world is threatening. The God of Thunder seems to be reality for once…. oh the old legends, why did we forget them in easy summer-time weather? But once you DO go out, man, you are rewarded with a scenery worthy a baroque opera.
Posted in Island, Weather
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The retired Inspector reports about a past murder – including Christian comparisons
(Excerpts from a Mlatese Newspaper):
A retired police inspector this morning described to the court the scene of the murder six years ago of X, who was shot as he came out of church with his partner Y and her two children.
The Inspector said that when he went on the scene of the crime he saw X on the ground with an impressive wound in his buttocks – “there was a gaping hole, his trousers were torn and blood was streaming out of him and onto the road. “I was impressed by the wound… I get goose bumps just remembering the scene,” he said.
The inspector told the court that on the day, X “looked like Our Lady of Sorrows”.
Her young daughter was lying on a blanket and was surrounded by people while her son looked more composed.
Y told him that her former husband had shot X and then told her it was her fault, the retired inspector said. Is this a clear case of jealousy?
The case continues.
UPDATE :
Police Constables K and L recounted in court today how they had found X a few hours after the fatal shooting took place. While on patrol, they were informed that there had been a murder and that the suspect may be in the area. When they arrived near the parish church they saw a man who fit the description given to them. One of the constables got out of the police car and asked the man to identify himself.
The man said his name was “Mar bil fjuri“ (he went with flowers). (…) He was then arrested.
This same man explained at court today that he had told them his name was “Mar bil frott“ (he went with fruit) because he was giving them a clue to his name – Martin – which when broken down into syllables Mar-tin and translated into Maltese meant “he went” and “figs”, which was a fruit. But did he not say his name was “he went with flowers” and not “he went with fruit/ regardless of the fruit?/”
The case continues.
– almost correct copy from newspaper
Posted in Gunpowder, People
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Birzebbuga double murder: AA B CD
News from a Mlatese Newspaper (Excerpts):
B from Valletta was giving evidence in the murder trial of C and D. C and D stand accused of the murder of A Senior and his son A Junior near Birzebbuga.
Taking the witness stand, B said he knew A Senior because he used to be a neighbour. He also used to work for D cleaning drinking glasses. More recently he used to run errands for him, paying people for him and picking up papers.
On July 17 D asked him to run some errands for him at around 9.45 am. They met and he drove near the gas plant close to Birzebbuga. They drove into a narrow lane and he waited in the car while D went to speak to someone.
Then, D asked him to pick up A Jr who was waiting outside his house.
He did so and they went to Birzebbuga. D phoned and directed him to drive to a field at Qajjenza. A Jr got out of the car and walked off with D.
B said that as he waited, he assisted two workers who could not get their cherry picker started. (!!!) Then he happened to look into a field and saw A Jr on the ground. D was hitting him and C was standing over him. It looked like they were fighting. B got scared and ran off. As he left he heard what sounded like two gun shots. B got home and such was his fear that he lost consciousness. When he recovered he went out to his car and suddenly D came up to him.
He asked him what had happened to A and D told him not to say anything to the police. He also told him they were “Both ready”. D later gave him a bag and asked him to throw it away. B did not know what was in it and disposed of it in a skip. C did not do anything.
D also wanted a change of clothes and B said he gave him some of his worn clothes. B also recalled that a few days before this incident Jason told him that there were drugs and money hidden in a field.
The case continues. What happened to A Sr?
Posted in Birzebuggia, People
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Why church clocks indicate the wrong time.
Many of the Maltese churches have two clocks, showing different times. It is said that the one on the right shows the correct time for the religious locals, while the one on the left shows the wrong time to confuse Satan from disturbing the mass.
Posted in Christianity
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Cart Ruts
An Australian archaeologist has put forward her theory on the origin of the “Maltese Clapham Junction”, and it has nothing to do with the usual Atlantis theories. Claudia has suggested that the site may simply be a relic of stone age agriculture.
Posted in Civilization, Prehistory
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Recap Festa Season
Festa Summer Season of this year is definitely over. Actually, winter is already on its way.
Flipping through some summer memory shots makes me think about the many Village Feasts again. Time to sum up some of the main ingredients of a Village Feast:
– you need an occasion for the festa. usually it is linked to some Saint or Holy Person or an event from the life of a Holy Person. Mary gets most of the points. By far.
– you need fireworks. both on the ground and in the air. preferably also during the day, these are called daytime-fireworks and they basically just make a lot of noise. they sound the 12 o’clock gunshots from the Saluting Battery in Valletta, only that they are louder, uncontrolled and somehow erratic. also very annoying if you want to sleep in. (if sometimes feels and sounds as if the house next to you was being bombarded by aliens
from Orion only that we all know that aliens don’t exist… at least not since the last Orion-Wars) .
anyways, firework displays.
we love them.
– you need sweets and loads of food. qubbajt (traditional nougats), an array of fried food, street stalls selling beer, sugary and salty foods of somehow ominous taste and aftertaste. important however for the subsequent consumption of alcohol!
– you need intricate decorations, confetti throwing, extravagantly lit and decorated churches. you need carrying of heavy life-size religious statues, mostly over uneven territory.
– you need a gang, ardent supporters who willingly and volontarily go about through all sorts of hassle. these supporters (young and old) start to prepare for the great day weeks (if not months) ahead. Band clubs practise the musical programmes and marches which will be executed on the feast day throughout the streets, others gather funds for the fireworks, the rest take care of decorating the streets and the church facade… it leaves me in awe, really.
– you need bands, processions, the ringing of church bells, … as mentioned, the louder the better. the louder, the more chances you have that God and your Saint are really paying attention. And mostly you will know how devoted people really are. And i am not joking here!
The more spectacular the festa is the better.
Last but not least, one of my favorite takes ever: a devote man waiting for the big party of the Festa to start. temporarily, the main street has been transformed into a massive open air discotheque with the disco ball waiting to be set in motion. what the man is actually looking at and what we as outsiders can only always imagine, is the over sized statue of the Rising Madonna opposite the disco-ball. I can think of no better imagine to show your massive devotion.
Posted in Christianity, Festa, Fireworks, Food, Mlatese, Nights, People, Statue, Summer
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Continuation: the fascination with the South of the Island
Posted in Beach, Birzebuggia, Malta, Street Signs
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