All Change

Life throws up some strange juxtapositions or rather I have such an unfocused mind that I find myself doing different things at the same time.

The Crunch

The phoney war’s almost over, in a few days we will face the crunch. I am realistic about the complexity and pessimistic about the effect of the UK’s departure from the EU.

Scam Time

I hope you won’t mind if I share some scams with you. If you haven’t come across them it may save you embarrassment and dosh.

Published
Categorised as Business

Other Men’s Flowers

There is a tide in the affairs of men. Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat, And we must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures.

Gozo Notes

Malta has two main indigenous grape varieties: Gellewza (red) and Ghirgentina (white). Not as catchy or easy to pronounce as chardonnay – remember that Oz ad campaign, “say g’day to a chardonnay” that implied Australians at the very least cleaned their teeth in the morning with the stuff. 

Men (and a Woman) Who Painted Malta

Churches on Gozo have ornate decoration but, so far as I have seen, no stand-out works of art. That cannot be said of the co-cathedral, St John’s, in Valletta.

Published
Categorised as Art, Travel

Megalithic Temples of Malta

The Ġgantija temples stand at the end of the Xagħra plateau in the town of Xagħra on Gozo. Understandably they have been dubbed the Megalithic Temples of Malta for alliteration and ease of pronunciation.

Carnival and Churches

  A few tourists but mostly Maltese pour into Gozo for Carnival. The usual population is elderly but Carnival is for the young and thirsty. Robert and I must be the only people who didn’t have a drink – but we didn’t stay long. The parade hadn’t started which made it easy to take these… Continue reading Carnival and Churches

Martello Towers

The coastline of the British Isles was defended in the 19th century by Martello towers. One, in Aldeburgh in Suffolk, belongs to the Landmark Trust – you can rent it and stay there. James Joyce stayed in another Martello, in Sandycove near Dublin. Why are they called Martello? Signore Martello was a Venetian architect who… Continue reading Martello Towers

Indian Summer and Belisha Beacons

The tortuous and blood-stained road to Indian independence and partition is uncannily like the path taken in other countries. The most important political leaders are Mahatma Gandhi (Inner Temple), Mohammad Ali Jinnah (Lincoln’s Inn) and Jawaharlal Nehru (Harrow, Trinity College Cambridge and Inner Temple) …  and Lord Mountbatten who, like my cousin Richard, went to… Continue reading Indian Summer and Belisha Beacons