Tuesday 22 June 2021
It's been a while since I last wrote here and that's mainly due to summer lethargy, too much reading and quizzing my son for his annual exams. The latter is thankfully behind us and we have all have heaved a collective sigh of relief. We had been having some rather nice weather up to now but, overnight, the temperature shot up by around 10 degrees (C) and the raging heat of Africa has reached our shores. It is hot, muggy and unpleasant. The sky is laden with desert dust and, although the wind is blowing, it brings no respite because each gust feels like a hot blast from a furnace. But I'll look on the bright side: it's the solstice and, from here on, the days will only get shorter and cooler weather will return.
Wedding Anniversary
Currently reading
Plans
Useful links
- If you're looking for an easy cake that you can whip up in 15 minutes, look no further than Mary Berry's Lemon Drizzle Cake. It's moist and super delicious too.
- It's barbecue season so this classic grilled cheeseburger recipe by Olive & Mango might come in handy.
- If you're in Malta and need some cute espadrilles make sure to visit Marquis de Vissac in Santa Lucia Street, Valletta. Their espadrilles are hand-made in France and Spain. I just bought a really nice pair and will be sharing them on Instagram soon. If you like something you can make enquiries whether they ship worldwide.
- And, finally, take a look at Nikki Garnett's fashion suggestions for summer 2021.
Tuesday 1 June 2021
Sometimes I feel like a fraud. Both here and on Instagram I share photos of the Malta I love; the unspoilt, quaint Malta that I remember from my childhood. But that Malta is gone and only survives in our memories and in a handful of places.
The desecration of this island started in the late 70s but, in the past 5 years, it has infiltrated all our towns and villages at a breath-taking speed that is impossible to keep up with. I used to survive by avoiding the ugly places. But now, the 'uglification' of Malta is everywhere. I cannot escape from it but I also cannot bring myself to press the shutter button on my phone or camera to immortalise and share the hideousness with my readers. There are a few pristine places left, like Mdina, Valletta, Birgu, Isla and some town and village cores. But the rest of Malta is subjected to wrecking balls, cranes, dust and debris on a daily basis. Post-war houses are being pulled down everywhere and replaced by soulless concrete apartment blocks several storeys high, because the limestone blocks that were used to build our houses and which gave Malta so much of its character are in very short supply. But these concrete monstrosities stick out like the proverbial sore thumb as concrete will not weather and take on the golden hue that used to characterize our townscapes.
It makes me weep to read that 250 football pitches worth of open space have been built up (and on an island this small, that is an irreversible tragedy) or that a beautiful old house has been 'regenerated' by adding several storeys of modern ugliness on top of it. Admittedly, it did win an award and we're all grateful it wasn't demolished but I can't bring myself to like it. It almost looks like it will crumble under the extra weight. In the seaside town of Sliema, all the Edwardian and Art Deco-era houses on the promenade have been levelled and replaced by apartments and office blocks. Some might see it as an improvement and proof that Malta is joining the 'modern world' but I beg to differ. I think we've lost our soul.
Pencil buildings, as they are called, are sprouting up all over the place. I suppose it would be forgivable if there was a sudden population boom. In reality, according to this article from 2013, at least 1/3 of the property on the island is vacant. I can only imagine how much higher that number is today. Moreover, to add insult to injury, property prices have spiralled upwards to ridiculous levels. The irony is that if we sold our home we would only be able to get something equivalent or smaller for the same amount of money. Anything bigger or better would be out of our reach.
Not that I would want to move anywhere. We are blessed to live at the top of a valley in a small military town designed by the British in the late 1800s. Our subdivision is from the early 2000s and, up to now, has escaped unscathed - as has most of the town. How long this will continue I don't know.
I'm also not sure why I wrote this except that I needed a place to vent. And to make you all aware that Malta is not the pretty place you will see in tourist brochures and postcards. Not anymore.
If you want to share my pain, you can click here for some visuals and here for a comprehensive article printed in the Times of Malta in March 2021.
However, if you prefer some glimpses of what I like to call 'disappearing Malta' and which I frequently use as a hashtag on Instagram, please visit or follow these accounts (including mine):