Comment / The Sea June - October 2021 MALTA
KONRAD BUHAGIAR
I
love Ghadira in the winter when it drizzles. When it is neither bustling nor garish and when, in its abandonment, it reminds me of the wide expanses of deserted beach and roaring waves that suit the cinema so well. The holidaymakers have all disappeared and the beach is empty except for a few wooden boats drawn up high on the sand and a couple of shuttered kiosks, unkept and forlorn like bedraggled old characters waiting for lovers who will never return. The overcast sky stretches outwards, on and on over a turbulent, thundering sea, grey and cold. Scattered around on this pale, gritty canvas, are the dark, distant spots of other company. Like me, they are here to breathe in the salty scene and
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to reconnect with the horizon. Lonely figures stuffed in windcheaters and woollen mufflers stamp along with their dogs in tow. The dogs bound about excitedly over the wet sand, running up to groups of youngsters sitting huddled in tight knots, and the chilly air is suddenly pierced with elated shrieks and highpitched laughter. There is a wetness in the air, a whiteness even, a magic in the mingling of the sea spray, the waves breaking on the sand’s shifting edge and low-lying, wind-driven clouds. It is the whiteness of timeless films I love, the whiteness of a swarm of boys’ sports shirts running to the music of Vangelis, of a little girl’s ballet dress spinning around to Michael Nyman’s piano, or of Jean-Louis Trintignant’s battered white car driving on the damp sand. Cha ba da ba da.
That is not to say there wasn’t any whiteness in the crowded beach of Mongibello one simmering summer day in the life of the talented Mr Ripley. “You’re so WHITE!” exclaimed Jude Law, irritated that his sun-kissed siesta had been interrupted by the awkward, pale-looking Matt Damon in his waist high mustard trunks and nerdy specs. But as much as surprising stories are spun on the edge of a summer sea when it sizzles, winter is the setting for intimate confessions, meditations on life and professions of love. As mushy as this all sounds, I couldn’t help but cringe on reading the news the other day to learn that it is the intention of the Ministry for Infrastructure, with the support of the Ministry for Tourism, to embark on a project for the upgrading of Ghadira Bay, an operation
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THE SEA, THE SEA, THE YEARROUNDQUALITY SEA costing two million Euro, that “will see the reconstruction of pedestrian areas at the shorefront, and the installation of new lights, CCTV systems, fountains and public convenience facilities as well as free Wi-Fi”. (Times of Malta, 28th May, 2021) “We have to change the approach we take to maintaining infrastructure in tourism areas and embrace a new mentality for our zones to be maintained and accessible all year round,” the Minister declared. “We are approaching these projects with year-round quality in mind”. Seriously? Two million Euro worth of lights and CCTV cameras and toilets and free Wi-Fi? Ah no, of course, I forgot to mention there’s a fuddy-duddy fountain feature marvellously marooned
