Sunday Circle Issue 220

Page 1

www.sundaycircle.com

APRIL 2013 – ISSUE NO. 220

Interview IN HER SHOES

Joanne Cassar on finding happiness as a transsexual By Philip Leone-Ganado Photos by Steve Muliett see page 36

Kristen BUHAGIAR On the challenges of modelling, the thrills of London Fashion Week and her pursuit of a career in medicine By Martina Said -§- Photos by Steve Muliett see page 14

PLUS

How fostering offers new hope to children yearning for a family By Martina Said – see page 22

TO WI N A A SU N R A wi P M th RI AZ RO SE IN G se C e p S DE H ag T S O e 4 RA TI L NA ID 8 V EL T AY IO N

Exclusive


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14

contents INTERVIEWS

hEALTh & BEAUTy

Kristen Buhagiar speaks to Martina Said about going back to school, the thrills of London Fashion Week and the ups and downs of a life in modelling

Consulting and aesthetic surgeon Ray Debono discusses revision procedures after breast augmentation

14 A BEAUTIFUL MIND 36 IN HER SHOES

Joanne Cassar opens up to Philip Leone-Ganado about her childhood struggles and finding happiness as a transsexual

36 54 ALL IN A DAy’S wORk

Gianni Zammit speaks to Martina Said about his greatest obsessions, Kiss and Kay, and his mission to swim two kilometres for charity

From twisted minds to cruel intentions, crime writer Mark Camilleri on his new novel, Volens

43 LESSONS LEARNED FROM A LONG cAMPAIGN

Following the March elections, what’s next, asks Philip Leone-Ganado

cULTURE

46 cULTURE IN THE cITy

* Please be sure to include your email address and mobile number in your entries. Whenever you enter one of our competitions, your contact details will automatically be added to our mailing list to receive our promotional material and latest offers. Kindly indicate if you do not want to receive this information.

With obesity on the increase, the condition is fast becoming the epidemic of the 21st century

TRAVEL

66 ADvENTURE IN ASIA

PoLITIcS

WIN an AMAZING Holiday to Sicily with ROCS Travel

81 THE BATTLE AGAINST SUGAR

What happens when those who give life to you can no longer care of you? Martina Said discusses fostering

27 THE kILLER INSIDE ME

51 TRAVEL comPETITIoN

Dental and Implant surgeon Jean Paul Demajo on the benefits of over-dentures

48 THE SPLENDOUR OF SIcILy

LITERATURE

COMPETITIONS*

60 SOMETHING TO SMILE ABOUT

SocIETy

22 SOMEwHERE TO cALL HOME

54

33 A NEw yOU

Artistic Director of the Malta Arts Festival, Mario Frendo, speaks to Katryna Storace about this year’s upcoming edition

TEchNoLogy

75 ADD FRIEND

Experience Sicily and WIN a special getaway with Sunday Circle & ROCS Travel

From the heights of the Himalayas to the depths of India, pack your bags and get ready for the journey of a lifetime

mUSIc

70 SONGS OF OUR FATHERS

Musician and vocalist Justin Galea speaks to Katryna Storace about local music, Ghana and feeling at home in the Maltese language

87 HEy, SOULFUL SISTER

Martina Said meets singer and songwriter Alex Alden – a young artist who is already leaving her footprints on Malta’s music scene

REgULARS

5 A wORD FROM THE EDITOR 8 c BODy | 10 c BEAUTy | 12 c STyLE | 93 PAPARAzzI

ShoPPINg

62 SAFE & SOUND 94 SPIck & SPAN | 98 FOOD & DRINk 100 IN THE BAG | 104 TEcHNOLOGy

Has Facebook changed the way we value friendships?

Send your letterS to: Katryna Storace, the editor, Sunday Circle, Network Publications Ltd, Level 2, Angelica Court, Guzeppi Cali Street, Ta’ Xbiex, XBX 1425, or email: katryna@ networkpublications.com.mt. The editor reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and where space is limited. For advertising enquiries email: renee@networkpublications.com.mt or call: 2131 6326/7/8. Artworks should be sent to: martinau@networkpublications.com.mt. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole, or in part, is strictly prohibited without written permission. Opinions expressed in the Sunday Circle are not necessarily those of the editor or publishers. All reasonable care is taken to ensure truth and accuracy, but the editor and publishers cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions in articles, advertising, photographs or illustrations. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome, but cannot be returned without a stamped, self-addressed envelope. The editor is not responsible for material submitted for consideration. The Sunday Circle is printed by Progress Press and distributed free with The Sunday Times on the first Sunday of every month.


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A word from

the editor It is one of the perks of being a journalist that our work brings us into contact with such a colourful array of characters. Putting together an issue is more than just a frantic process of logistics and chasing ideas: it is also a special opportunity that renews itself, issue after issue. In the April edition of Sunday Circle, this opportunity took the shape of fashion models and crime writers, diabetes patients and foster children, folk musicians and big personalities, to name but a few. Cover girl Kristen Buhagiar, for instance, proved herself to be so much more than just a pretty face. Not only is she incredibly professional in her work and academic pursuits, but her transformation in front of the camera is a real

INNOVATION

wonder to watch. The chance encounters that interviews open up are sometimes even more surprising, as was the case with Joanne Cassar. Despite the publicity that has surrounded her, Joanne is actually very camera-shy and soft-spoken – but this does little to disturb the ease with which she shares some of her most intimate experiences. It is with this sense of privilege that we bring you some of our most interesting and thought-provoking encounters this month, so that our readers, too, may share in the disclosure and the delight such meetings afford.

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APRIL 2013 – ISSUE NO. 220

Interview IN HER SHOES

Joanne Cassar on finding happiness as a transsexual By Philip Leone-Ganado Photos by Steve Muliett see page 36

Kristen BUHAGIAR PLUS

How fostering offers new hope to children yearning for a family By Martina Said – see page 22

EDITORIAL Katryna Storace EDITOR

Martina Said Philip Leone-Ganado ASSISTANT EDITOR

TO WI N A A SU N R A wi P M th RI AZ RO SE IN G se C e p S DE H ag T S O e 4 RA TI L N ID 8 V EL AT AY IO N

By Martina Said -§- Photos by Steve Muliett see page 14

Renée Micallef Decesare

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Exclusive

On the challenges of modelling, the thrills of London Fashion Week and her pursuit of a career in medicine

PUBLICATION & SALES MANAGER

COVER Steve Muliett PHOTOGRAPHER

ART & DESIGN

enter the circle

Sarah Scicluna Jessica Camilleri

SALES & MARKETING Marisa Schembri FEATURES SALES MANAGER

Sasha Miceli Demajo SUPPLEMENTS SALES MANAGER

Jessica Borg SUPPLEMENTS SALES COORDINATOR

Natalie Vella Martina Urso

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Flora by Gucci Glorious Mandarin is one of the five fragrances originating from the iconic Flora by Gucci. With this latest scent, Gucci captures the exhilaration of mandarin which fuses with the tropical rum & pineapple of the piña colada only to be finished off with creamy wood notes. Receive an exclusive Flora by Gucci Compact Mirror with the purchase of any Flora Garden Eau de Toilette 50ml from The Fragrance Collection or a Flora by Gucci Lip Gloss with any Flora Garden Eau de Toilette 30ml purchased. For local trade enquiries; one may call VJ Salomone Marketing on freephone 8007 2387.

dEFINEd MASCULINITy

INTENSE EyES

Developed by Peter Philips, Creative Director of Chanel Makeup, the new Jeux de Regards collection invites women to express their femininity with a personal touch. The new Le Volume de Chanel mascara has a unique brush that coats lashes from root to tip. Instantly, lashes are longer, plumper, thicker and more intense. The result is undeniable: eyes are defined and look bigger with a wide-open effect. Coated in intense colour, lashes add character to the eyes for a result that is eye-catching and impossible to miss. Chanel is exclusively distributed by Alfred Gera & Sons Ltd.

Versace Eros is the new fragrance for men by Versace, and X-treme Co. Ltd know just how to deliver it. The launch, held at a beautiful Roman Villa filled with ancient vessels and stunning mosaic, brought instant clarity to the meaning and purpose of the event. The new fragrance by Versace brings the fashion house back to its roots through the medusa logo and Greek fret pronounced on the rim of the Eros bottle. Masculinity and sensuality oozed throughout the whole event with the powerful Eros scent in the air. Versace Eros is distributed by X-Treme Co. Ltd.

RESToRING yoUTH

BLACK PASSIoN

Dahlia Noir is a flower that, all by itself, epitomises Givenchy’s vision of elegance. With the Eau, Dahlia Noir unveils a sparkling glimpse of its character. The accord is citron and neroli, with a rose petal middle note that is the very identity of Dahlia Noir. But today it is rediscovered in an original olfactory variation, as though beaded with dew. Underpinning it all, a hint of patchouli intermingles with essences of cedar and musk to give the discreetly chypre trail an aura of Couture sophistication. Available in 50ml and 90ml. Exclusively represented by C+M Marketing Ltd. Tel: 2142 4079.

8

Sunday Circle | April 2013

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Embrace your Summer Receive an exclusive Flora by Gucci Compact Mirror with the purchase of any Flora Garden Eau de Toilette 50ml from The Fragrance Collection or a Flora by Gucci Lip Gloss with any Flora Garden Eau de Toilette 30ml purchased. Available from authorised outlets. Offer valid until stocks last.

Trade Enquiries VJ Salomone Marketing tel: 8007 2387


BEAUTY STRONGER NAILS

Mavala’s Scientifique was the first nail hardener on the market introduced in 1958. It bonds the three layers of the nail together, therefore really hardening the nail. Scientifique should not be applied on the skin and should be used on the tip of each nail in one stroke not all over the nail and left to dry for one minute. Scientifique should be used once a week for one month, once every two weeks for the second month and once a month for the third – if used more often nails might break because they become too hard. Exclusively represented by C+M Marketing Ltd. Tel: 2142 4079/80/82.

GLAMOROUS SCENT

Be the shining star at every party by stepping out in the new ultimate accessory from Jimmy Choo, the perfect companion for the party girl in us. You can now have head to toe Jimmy Choo glitz and glamour, with the glittery shoes, the handbag and now the fragrance to complete the party look. Get ready to dazzle and set the night alive. Sparkles of pink pepper, tangerine and strawberry introduce a flash of white flowers and tuberose to this Eau de Parfum fragrance. Intoxicating and dangerously sexy, the scent parades on a catwalk of addictive powdery woods. Jimmy Choo fragrances are exclusively distributed by Chemimart Ltd. Tel: 2149 2212.

FASHION JEWELLERY

At Perfumes & More you will find more than 1,000 unique jewellery designs and an incredible selection of rings, including CZ rings, fashion rings, cocktail rings, engagement style rings, wedding sets, eternity bands, mens’ rings, stainless steel rings, sterling silver rings – you name it, Perfumes & More have got it. We also offer a selection of other fine fashion jewellery items such as earrings, necklaces, pendants, brooches and bracelets starting only from just €9. Launching their latest Infinite Love Eternity Band which usually sells at €139, this outstanding ring is being offered at a fantastic price of €69. Visit Perfumes & More at The Strand, Sliema and High Street Hamrun. Call on 2015 1617 or visit www.perfumesandmore.com.mt.

10 Sunday Circle | April 2013

PERFECT HAIR

Healthier, more beautiful-looking hair is something on every woman’s wish list. One of the most important factors in hair maintenance is the fight against hair loss and Vichy Laboratories is contributing to this battle with Dercos Aminexil Pro, an intensive antihair loss treatment combining multiple ingredients to help anchor the root and strengthen the hair fibre with a proven result of up to 72 per cent less hair loss. The product is non-greasy and non-sticky. Ask your pharmacist for advice. For information and samples email vichy@prohealth.com.mt or SMS 7980 6836.

AMAZING COLOURS

Inglot offers the largest array of colours in the world – the combinations and the choice are endless. Their latest spring look catches on the orange make-up trend which has been growing steadily for the past few seasons. Want to learn how to obtain this outstanding Inglot spring look? Call and get a complimentary make-up tutorial for the latest fabulous look. Spend €25 during spring and get the latest-look lipstick for free. Terms and conditions apply. Offer valid until stock lasts. Inglot, The Strand, Sliema. Tel: 2015 1410/ 2015 1415 Email: manager@inglotmalta.com www.inglotmalta.com


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STYLE

PURE PERFECTION

Sarto is proud to announce the Non-Apparel Line for Burberry, which includes bags, scarves, shoes, belts, jewellery and small leather goods. Every piece of leather is separately hand cut, and the pieces hand stitched around a custom made wooden form, to create the bag’s distinctive shape. The handles of the bag are hand-stitched and the edges hand painted. The distinctive Burberry heritage grain leather used on some models is calf skin and treated with a specialised heat technique that reflects Burberry’s heritage in fabric innovation. Details are hand-carved and finished in polished metal by artisans who have perfected their craft in Venice for over 30 years. Sarto, 2 Ross Street, St Julian’s.

A ROCKING EVENT

Hard Rock International has called on aspiring musicians from around the globe to rock out for the opportunity of a lifetime through this year’s Hard Rock Rising. As Hard Rock continues its commitment to emerging artists, Hard Rock Rising will place the Grand Prize winner on the fast-track to global stardom as they embark on a World Tour in six renowned cities arranged by Hard Rock International, in partnership with GO. The final round will be held on 11 April and will feature each of the preliminary winners. One band will then be selected to represent Malta as they compete against 95 other Hard Rock Cafe winners from around the world. Hard Rock Cafe Malta, Level 2, Baystreet Tourist Complex, St Julian’s 2372 2253/7. Visit www.hardrock.com/malta for additional details.

SHOE HEAVEN

Following the success of the Tip Toes Level 1 store, situated just above the flagship megastore on the Birkirkara bypass, Tip Toes Level 1 in Bisazza Street strives to offer an equally vast selection of shoes to its customers, which is in fact proving to be a success. Level 1 is dedicated to leatherbranded footwear of the utmost comfort, including the brands Caprice, Rieker, Marco Tozzi, Ramarim and Pitillos. The selection is endless and quality is guaranteed, which keeps our loyal customers as well as new ones coming back for more. Tip Toes Mega Shop, Birkirkara ByPass, Birkirkara, Malta Tel: 2148 0272 (Office Hours) http://www.tiptoes.com.mt

ANTIQUE JEWELS

The long-awaited Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti exhibition Vanity, Profanity & Worship: Jewellery from the Maltese Islands has now opened in the historic building of the Casino Maltese, Valletta. For the first time in Malta, this exhibition brings together spectacular pieces of jewellery loaned from Maltese private and church collections which rarely, if ever, are seen in public. Over five hundred jewellery items are exhibited and this provides a thorough survey of what jewellery in Malta looked like from ancient times to the present. The exhibition is being organised by Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti, a Maltese not-forprofit organisation. The exhibition will be held from 31 March 2013 until 26 May 2013. Open every day from 10am – 6pm and until late on Friday. For further info: info@patrimonju.org, www.patrimonju.org. 12 Sunday Circle | April 2013

BIGGER AND BETTER

For just over 40 years, the Parisian brand has set itself up in the ready-to-wear world and built itself a legendary image in France and across the globe. With fashionable collections and a constantly updated selection, Morgan is in touch with a young, active and urban customer base that is attuned to the values of femininity, originality and freedom. Morgan has everything it needs for captivating women who love fashion and are always on the lookout for the latest trends. Morgan in Malta has just changed location to a bigger and better shop in Tower Road Sliema, opposite Promod.


I AM NEW MY NEW STYLE

MOSTA 67, CONSTITUTION STR | TEL: +356 2202 1121 SLIEMA PJAZZA TIGNÉ, TIGNÉ | TEL: +356 2202 1101 ST JULIAN’S LEVEL 1, BAYSTREET SHOPPING MALL, ST GEORGE’S BAY | TEL: +356 2202 1111 VALLETTA 248A REPUBLIC STR | TEL: +356 2202 1131


COVER

Photography by Steve Muliett Make-up & hair by Chantal Busuttil using Shiseido – www.cbmakeupandsfx.com Clothes & styling by Luke Azzopardi – Luke Azzopardi is a Gozitan designer and visual artist for Naupaca Dance Factory Follow him on lukeazzopardi.tumblr.com 14 Sunday Circle | April 2013


COVER

A

BEAUTIFUL MIND

Kristen Buhagiar is smart, Beautiful and on her way to becoming a doctor. She SpeakS to martina Said about going back to school, the thrills of london fashion Week and the ups and downs of a life in modelling April 2013 | Sunday Circle 15


COVER

W

hen Kristen Buhagiar was younger she dreamt of becoming a doctor. Years later, she graduated in pharmacy, which was a step in the right direction for her. Two years ago, however, while in Boston presenting her Masters project, followed by a brief stint in New York for a fashion shoot for a designer she’d met previously in London, she made a decision that would alter the course of her life.

With a modelling career spanning over 15 years, it appears that Kristen’s life is anything but ordinary. She has dabbled in two distinct and seemingly immiscible worlds: science and art, and yet, while her dream of becoming a doctor budded early on, the same cannot be said of her interest in modelling. “I was so clueless about fashion that the first time I went shopping alone I had no idea sizes existed. I bought a pair of red jeans that were huge for me,” she laughs. After four years of clinical pharmacy and with two London Fashion Weeks under her belt, Kristen began to deliberate her future again. “I was working at Karin Grech rehabilitation hospital, working on wards with patients, consultants and nurses.” The experience prompted her to take on a more active role in helping the patients. She decided to bite the bullet and enrol in the medicine course at the University of Malta. Two years on, Kristen – now 31 – loves every bit of it. “You have to be prepared to enter medicine; I admire my course colleagues who are 19 years old,” she says. “I’m taking studying more seriously now than when I was studying pharmacy – I want to take it all in.” Her career in modelling began purely by chance – “I was walking up Republic Street with my sister. I was 13 and she was 15. Someone approached us and asked if we’d like to take part in a fashion show. It seemed exciting and, of course, we accepted. One opportunity led to another...” The rest, as they say, is history.

I was so clueless about fashion that the first time I went shopping alone I had no idea sizes existed

She found modelling to be thrilling, and juggled these and her studying commitments as best she could, shifting her attention between the two while trying not to slack in her studies. As an energetic and free-spirited twentysomething, Kristen wanted to take on as much as she could. “There were months where I’d be really busy with modelling, but once that quietened down I’d focus on studying, and vice-versa. I always coped somehow – there were times where I fell behind in my studies but it happens to all students. Modelling was my escape.”

In 2010, while working full time at Karin Grech, Kristen got the opportunity to participate in one of the most anticipated events of the fashion world: London Fashion Week. She says the experience was somewhat surreal; tending to patients at hospital in the morning and trying on gorgeous gowns in London that same evening. “It all happens very fast – you get there, do a casting and fashion designers choose you for their show just hours before it starts. It is an exciting atmosphere and the people are lovely, but it’s also busy and very hard work.” 16 Sunday Circle | April 2013


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COVER She did it for two seasons, each time modelling for around seven designers. It wasn’t just the fashion, however, that captured her attention. Kristen says the best part of it all was meeting a variety of people, many of whom she had never even heard of before. “The models, the designers – they’ve got so much energy and drive. They’re not just dreamers, they do things. It’s inspiring.” Kristen says modelling couture at Fashion Week is a big responsibility for the models. “The designer briefs you about the mood and the inspiration behind the clothes. It is like a script,” she says, “and you are the actor that narrates that script in the best way possible. You have to act the part, be the dress.” Returning to her job, however, meant dealing with a bigger and different kind of responsibility. After the whirlwind experience of Fashion Week, Kristen experienced what she describes as something similar to “culture shock”. “At Fashion Week, you are an ambassador for the couture you’re modelling and, in that way, you have a responsibility to do it well. But shifting back to work was like a shock to the system. People there were young and beautiful and patients in hospital were grey and dying... It was a huge contrast,” she reflects. Letting go of her job to model full-time, however, has never been on the cards for Kristen. Maybe it’s because she never got the opportunity, she reveals – although I suspect that modelling alone would not have quelled her craving for learning and academia. For years, she’s been immersed in two very different roles – does shifting between them bring out different sides of her personality? Not anymore, she says. “When I model I simply play the part. I’m aware that modelling and medicine are two different areas that probably cannot merge but they have structured my personality and made me who I am today,” she says.

The models, the designers – they’ve got so much energy and drive... It’s inspiring

18 Sunday Circle | April 2013

Kristen has flourished on the local fashion scene and has been in demand for work for a long time. As she moves in front of the camera – making poetry with the angles of her body, her signature crystal blue eyes catching the light, welling with expression – it isn’t hard to see why. There’s no denying she is strikingly beautiful and incredibly easygoing. I ask if it is a challenge to remain grounded in an industry that can inflate your ego and confidence as quickly as it can puncture it. “People’s comments are positive and you welcome them. But you become aware of who you are and work on maintaining that.” What about rejection – has she ever been rejected for a job? “Oh yes,” she says, waving her hand dismissively. “It’s part of the job. One has to expect sooner or later they’ll get rejected. But opportunities are infinite. You simply have to embrace them with an open mind and heart,” she says. “Trace a path to achieve a goal and dance along to it.” Indeed, Kristen is dancing all the way.


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SOCIETY

>

HERE W O E M S 22 Sunday Circle | April 2013


SOCIETY

O T

H M E O L L A C What happens When those Who gave life to you can no longer care for you? fostering, says Martina said, can give new hope to those children yearning for the love of a family…

At the young and unsuspecting age of two-and-a-half, Emanuel Seguna’s life was entrusted in the hands of caring nuns at the Ursuline crèche. It is where he grew up as a toddler, but later transferred to Angela House in Pieta and again, aged seven, to St Patrick’s Salesian school and residential home for boys. From as early as his days at the crèche, Emanuel, now 24, enjoyed the protection of a foster mother, although from a distance, as she would only house him on weekends and on special occasions. It wasn’t until the age of 12, when fostering started to take root in Malta, that he was able to move in with his foster mother for good. “As I grew older, I struggled to feel happy at an institute – I felt mentally unstable and the more time passed, the more confused I felt,” he says, “coming and going to different

institutes and having problems with my natural family. Also, the more time I spent at the institute, the more I missed my foster mother. I kept feeling as if she was my home.” His experience is not, however, an isolated one. At present, there are over 100 children awaiting foster care. John Role, leader of the Fostering Team at Agenzija Appogg, says the reasons why children are separated from their natural family are various: some parents turn up at the agency asking for help in raising their child, others give up their child for fostering for a temporary period due to illness or out of an inability to cope with raising their child, and at other times, “the agency sets out to protect a child from their biological family because they live in an environment of abuse, harm and neglect, or because their parents are unable to care for them.” April 2013 | Sunday Circle 23


SOCIETY The experience of separation is often traumatic for both the parents and the child. Getting a child out of their natural home could take months, years even, as plenty of information concerning the child’s condition and family needs to be collected and reviewed. If a foster home is available, a child is relocated either for a stipulated length of time, ranging from a few months to years, or under the protection of a care order which serves to protect minors until the age of 18 and gives foster parents shared responsibility with the state over the child. A care order, which is usually a long-term arrangement, is issued by the ministry responsible for family affairs.

As a foster parent you need to acknowledge the identity of the child. You cannot make a child forget where they came from In the case of a temporary arrangement, Mr Role explains that responsibility can shift back to the natural family if it is seen by social workers and relevant bodies that they are fit to care for their child again. When a care order is in place, however, the situation is somewhat more permanent. Some foster parents, in fact, go on to adopt the child in their care. How does adoption differ from fostering? Mr Role says an adopted child enjoys equal rights to that of a biological child, so adoptive parents make all the decisions. In the case of fostering, parents need the consent of the child’s biological parents for certain decisions to be made, such as travelling or changing school. Daniella Zerafa, a social worker by profession, has no children of her own and, together with her husband, made the decision to offer her family as a foster home. She is now foster mother to a four-and-half-year-old girl who was taken in under a care order. “I contacted the Agency and a meeting was set up to get to know us better and find out what we were after,” says Daniella. After a series of assessments and a training course lasting six weeks, Daniella and her husband were equipped with the necessary pre-requisites in order to be eligible to foster a child. She explains that the agency then carries out a process called matching. At this stage, preferences made by the foster family – related, for instance, to age, gender, health requirements and length of the placement – and the needs of a child are closely compared in order to ensure that a child is fostered by a family that can meet their needs as well as possible. Every child’s situation is in fact unique. “Sometimes, children are taken straight to a foster home through 24 Sunday Circle | April 2013

a care order from birth because, for instance, the mother is a drug addict. Having your child taken away from you is without a doubt very difficult on the family, but it is also hard on the child,” says Daniella. “If the mother is also a victim in the family and is abused by her partner, the child continues to worry about the mother.” She adds that despite the benefits of being removed from an abusive situation, it is still strenuous on the child to feel integrated and settled in a new family. “They often react.” One reason why, in fact, a shortage of foster families exists is because people fear they will take in a child they are not able to handle. Isn’t such a fear, however, somewhat justified? Mr Role nods; children waiting to be fostered are often filled with anxiety as a result of the difficulties they experienced during childhood. “Often, however, people get the impression that these children are very naughty or problematic. But the problem lies in the child’s inability to control anxiety,” he explains. “From birth, children are taught by their parents to control their anxiety; but neglected children find no such help. Their experience is based on fear.” Daniella explains how the child in her care’s personality has flourished during the nine months that she’s been in foster care. “She was brought to us in a very bad physical state. She was shy and spoke to no one. I look at her today and it amazes me how outgoing and happy she is.” And that alone is one of the greatest satisfactions of fostering, she says, as seeing a child make milestones is hugely gratifying. Despite the hardships the child in her care experienced when she was younger, however, Daniella is quick to add that such positive qualities were inherited from none other than her biological parents – “it wasn’t all bad, something good must have been going on.” She adds that, early on, she made it a point to talk to her about her roots. “She has lots of pain and as a foster parent you need to acknowledge the identity of the child. You cannot make a child forget where they came from – her past makes her who she is today.” Emanuel agrees that scaring a child about their natural parents only serves to stir feelings of anxiety, fear and nerves within an already troubled person. “There needs to be a balance,” he says. “You can promise the world to a child as a foster family, but there will always be a pull towards the natural family. Balance is the best thing you can give to a child...” together with a generous dose of love and, of course, a place to call home.

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LITERATURE

the

KiLLeR

inside me

What causes someone to kill? From tWisted minds to cruel intentions, KAtrYnA storAce SPEAKS TO CrimE wriTEr mArK CAmillEri Photography by Steve muliett

Everyone likes a good murder. From the body in the library, to the bloated and battered body carried in by the tide, the presence of a corpse seems to capture our imagination, our horror and our deepest curiosity. For years, literature and film – and later, of course, television – have been fascinated with the brutal and final act of murder. And in most cases – from Agatha Christie’s Poirot mysteries to HBO’s CSI series – our biggest concern lies in “whodunit?” For crime fiction writer Mark Camilleri – author of the acclaimed Prima Facie that was later adapted for TV – it is the “why” rather than the “who” that intrigues him. “I grew up reading all kind of newspapers and as a child, murder reports fascinated me,” Mark recounts, as we discuss the matter casually over coffee in the corner of a tiny café in Valletta.

April 2013 | Sunday Circle 27


LITERATURE

I was always intrigued by what goes on in a sane person’s mind that turns him into a murderer

“I was always intrigued by what goes on in a sane person’s mind that turns him into a murderer.” This, and his interest in detective fiction, particularly writers like Ian Rankin and Scandinavian literature, is mostly where the impulse for his own writing originated. “Most people associate the genre with the ‘whodunit’ – but I like to associate it also with the element of ‘whydunit’ – what makes people kill?” Mark will be releasing his second book Volens – a sequel to Prima Facie – later this month. The novel – a crime thriller set in the fever pitch of local football – sees the return of the hardy Inspector Victor Gallo. “Gallo, by profession is Head of the Homocide Squad. He’s separated, lives by himself, is an alcoholic and a chain smoker. In many ways, he’s an antihero.” As a character, Gallo harks back to some of the great detectives of the hardboiled tradition – the sort of character you come across in Noir films. His dogged dedication to his job sometimes requires him to employ unorthodox methods to get to the bottom of the case, so that it is often difficult to suss out which side of the moral fence he is on. “In Volens there is no black or white – just shades of grey,” says Mark. “The line that divides the good guys from the bad guys is not clear at all.” 28 Sunday Circle | April 2013

As a writer, Mark is primarily interested in developing character. “The advantage of writing a series is that the character begins to take on a life of his own,” he says. “In Volens, Gallo exposes himself to you, not vice-versa. His past is revealed and explored bit by bit,” and it is up to the readers to make things square up and to create their own understanding of him. Mark is a lot more deliberate, on the contrary, in his approach to plot. He always begins writing with a clear idea what happens and how the story will end. “The exciting part is building up the plot through the chapters following the crime: you have to keep up the momentum, and this is helped in part by good editing.” Unlike a real murder, where the events following may take years to unfold, a good crime thriller must unravel the facts at a fast enough pace to fuel the readers’ curiosity and keep them hooked until the very end. There is also another challenge. “You are, to begin with, very ignorant about the subject of murder investigations,” Mark confesses. “In the book, however, you need to come across as knowledgeable if you’re discussing, for example, the use of a particular technology in forensics.” Mark spent two months researching in preparation for

writing Volens. His research even involved interviews with forensic specialists and members of the Homicide Squad. Mark’s books are immensely striking, as they are clear examples of an unrepresented genre in local literature. “The last time detective fiction featured in Maltese literature was in the 70s, in Paul Xuereb’s work,” he says. Prima Facie and now Volens are very much Maltese crime thrillers: they are set on the streets and in the countryside we know and recognise. In one particular episode, for example, Gallo makes a stop at “Istanbul Kebab House” for a bite to eat. The characters are people we relate to, who speak our language. In Volens, too, Mark spins an intricate web of connections in the network of local football. “The football world is very intriguing. There is the coach, for example, who has to put to work the different egos that make up a team; the aspect of greed; the football club that is essentially run as a business… What’s more, being a small island, it is easy to have encounters between footballers from different teams off the pitch, which makes things a lot more complicated.” It is within this context that his tale of murder unfolds.



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Mark’s books aren’t all darkness, however. “I like to balance humour with the more brutal moments,” he says. Gallo, in fact, has a very wry sense of humour, despite his more antisocial traits. Unlike some of his more famous counterparts – Auguste Dupin and Sherlock Holmes to name a few – Gallo sometimes lacks a sense of acumen or discernment in solving his cases. “He is always running after the killer, who is always a step or two ahead of him…” In Volens, however, the inspector wisens up and uses his intellect to solve the case. Does Gallo share any traits with his creator? “Gallo is not me at all,” Mark replies shyly. “He is the character I never was and perhaps always wanted to be.” The official launch of Volens will take place on Friday 12 April at Il-Bottegin, St Paul’s Street, Rabat at 8pm.

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Mark’s influences are reflected in the way he treats violence in his books, which he himself describes as “brutal”. But he makes no apologies and shrugs off the extreme reactions some readers have expressed in relation to some of the scenes in Prima Facie. “Crime is very dark territory: it’s about the darker aspects of the human psyche. In some places, I accentuate the brutality, and, expressed in the Maltese language, this sometimes carries more impact.”

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April 2013 | Sunday Circle 000


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A NEW YOU Consulting plastiC and aesthetiC surgeon ray debono disCusses revision proCedures after breast augmentation Breast augmentation is a very popular operation. It is of utmost importance that the first surgery is performed correctly. Unfortunately, the advanced skills and accuracy required for the first surgery are often underestimated. The result can be satisfactory for a few months to a year and then deteriorate steadily with the outcome turning out to be very disheartening. The technique used in the first operation determines a lot of what happens in the years after, and the options available or otherwise for corrective surgery. The original consultation before the first surgery and the sound clinical judgement or otherwise derived from it also bears a heavy weight on the outcome. One other factor that strongly influences what a patient will look like after breast augmentation is what they looked like before: the shape of the breasts, the differences between the two breasts and breast or nipple deformity. THE MAIN REASONS FOR NEEDING REVISION SURGERY: • One or both breasts have hardened and may have become painful • The shape of one or both breasts has become undesirable • There is a wide gap between the two breasts • The breasts have sagged • Rippling and irregularities in the breast contour • Breasts sitting too high THE CAUSES FOR THE ABOVE REASONS CAN BE VARIED AND INCLUDE: • Capsular contracture (hardening of tissue around implant) • Improper implant size and shape choice • Improper choice of pocket plane (under or above muscle) as compared to the original breast features • Improper pocket dimensions dissection • Implant rotation • Implant rupture • Droopiness secondary to more pregnancies TREATMENT OPTIONS INCLUDE ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURES: • Change of pocket type • Pocket repairs using varied techniques • Breast lift • Use of specialised implant types

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In general breast augmentation with implants placed above the muscle results in much earlier deterioration than when implants are placed under the muscle. When the implants are above the muscle there is a much higher risk of capsular contracture (hardening) and of droopiness developing over the years. The correctness of the first operation is a main factor that will determine how likely it is that one would require revision surgery after breast augmentation. April 2013 | Sunday Circle 33



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36 Sunday Circle | April 2013


INTERVIEW

Joanne Cassar has Courted publiC Controversy in a highly publiCised battle with the courts for her right to marry the man she loves. here, she speaks to philip leone-Ganado about her childhood struGGles and her difficult journey to becoming the woman she has always wanted to be

A

s a small child, Joanne Cassar loved playing with dolls and spending time with girls her age. She had a nasty habit of injuring herself every time she played sports, and preferred following her mother, a greengrocer, to work, where she would pretend to set up shop and sell items herself. But many nights before bed, as she diligently thanked God for the day, she would cry herself to sleep, wondering why He had made her the way she was. The reason for her confusion was the very thing that set her apart from any other girl her age: Joanne is transsexual. Moreover, having been embroiled since 2005 in a bitter and public legal battle with the Maltese government for her right to marry – a case that has now gone all the way to the European Court of Human Rights – she is one of the most high-profile transsexual women in Malta. But

the person I meet at the beauty salon she owns in Fgura is neither a court case nor a tragic story. She is a softspoken woman in her early thirties (though she cheekily asks me if I can edit her age down to 24), with an infectious warmth, and a drive and independence that you sense have served her well. Joanne was born biologically male, but has always identified as female, socially and psychologically, and completed a biological transition in her early twenties. Today, she is pragmatic about her past. “I had a disorder that needed medical intervention to fix,” she explains.“There was a difference between my mind and my body.” But it wasn’t always so easy to understand. “For as long as I can remember I knew that I was different,” she says when I ask her about her childhood. April 2013 | Sunday Circle 37


interview

Back then, Before going out, i used to worry that i didn’t look enough like a woman. now i only worry aBout whether i look my Best

“I knew that there was such a thing as transsexual people, and when I’d hear about them I knew that what I was feeling was the same thing. But I didn’t want to be like them. I spent most of my childhood crying.” Joanne’s school days are a blur of depression and anxiety: skipping lessons to avoid her all-male classmates, and watching her academic performance slip as a result. She remembers two other children at school with situations similar to hers, but though she spent a lot of time with them because of the differences they shared, she didn’t speak to them about their condition. “How can you? You have so many questions about yourself that you can’t possibly open up to another person.” It was only later, as she left school and was confronted by diversity in the form of colleagues and friends that those questions began to resolve themselves. “I spent a lot of time in gay company,” she says. “You still stand out, but it’s comfortable because everyone’s different in their own way. In time, you start to come to terms with who you are.” Eventually, Joanne felt comfortable enough to come out to her family. “When I told my mother, she just hugged me tight. She was scared; she couldn’t understand what it meant.” At 16, Joanne started hormone therapy, the first stage of her biological transition, but the physical changes, which included growing a bust, were not easy on her family, or on her. “By then my wardrobe was all women’s clothes, but I changed it three times. I was so confused; I stopped hormones and started them again. I couldn’t bear the thought of upsetting my family. I remember sitting in my room between my bed and my brother’s: men’s clothes on one side, women’s on the other, just trying to understand...” In the end, Joanne is adamant that there was no real choice. “The procedure is expensive, and I knew all about the pain and the possible complications, but I couldn’t live another day in a male body. I’d rather be dead with ‘Joanne’ written on my tombstone than alive with my old name.” She remembers vividly the day she describes as the best of her life: the day she completed her gender reassignment surgery. “The doctor woke me up and said: Happy Birthday,” she recalls with a broad smile. “The next three weeks were hell physically, but it was worth it: I was a woman.” The operation changed her life. Slowly, she began to gain the confidence she had lacked her whole life. “Back then, before going out, I used to worry that I didn’t look enough like a woman. Now I only worry about whether I look my best,” she giggles. Where before she would avoid the beach and other locations for fear of what people would say, today she enjoys the attention. She still encounters prejudice on a regular basis, but she is no longer intimidated by it. “You need to be strong, but if somebody’s offended by who I am, that’s their problem, not mine,” she says. Equally, though, she has no time for sympathy. “I don’t want people to ‘accept’ me. You either want me in your life as I am, or you don’t.” Unfortunately, Joanne has not yet been able to fully put the unhappiness of her past life behind her. Despite local authorities recognising her as a woman on her ID card and birth certificate, the government continues to oppose her right to marry the man she loves.

38 Sunday Circle | April 2013


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SOCIETY Much has been written about the merits of the sevenyear case, but Joanne herself sums it up with disarming simplicity. “I’m a woman. I have every right a woman has. Who am I harming by marrying my boyfriend? Why should anyone get to decide how I live my life?” The tragic irony is that the relationship she has fought so hard to formalise has long since broken down – a victim of the stresses of a drawn-out legal battle. “We loved each other deeply,” Joanne tells me, “but the court case was just too much.” So why is the case still so important to her? “When I look at my mother and father, and how happy they are together, that’s enough. Every woman dreams of having a family,” she smiles, “I’m no different.”

NOBODY SHOULD HAVE TO EXPERIENCE THE HELL I WENT THROUGH. YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE TO JUSTIFY YOURSELF TO EVERY NEW PERSON YOU MEET

Joanne believes that her strength in seeing the case through to the end will pay dividends in opening doors for others in her situation. “Nobody should have to experience the hell I went through. You shouldn’t have to justify yourself to every new person you meet.” The key, she says, is education. “Society is a lot more open and accepting than it was when I was growing up, but people still don’t really understand. If we want a truly open-minded culture, we need to introduce children to diversity as early as kindergarten.” My interview with Joanne ends with one more story. “I opened my first salon when I was just 19,” she tells me. “I had no phone, a single pair of scissors, and just Lm31 in the bank.” On the first day of opening, she had absolutely no customers, but Joanne was willing to do anything to boost her business. “I was young and I wanted the world. I never asked my parents for help, I was ready to work hard to get what I wanted.” It is a similar drive that has motivated her throughout her life. And though there is still a final hurdle to overcome, today, she says with a smile, she’s at peace.

April 2013 | Sunday Circle 000



POLITICS

LESSONS LESSONS LEARNT LEARNT FROM FROM A LONG LONG A CAMPAIGN CAMPAIGN It’s been a month sInce the general electIons. WIth the benefIt of hIndsIght, and a bIt of distance, PhiliP leone-Ganado looks back and asks: what have we learned?

April 2013 | Sunday Circle 43


POLITICS

A

ny election that results in a change of government after 15 years is always going to have some important lessons for us. Add in the largest election victory in post-Independence history – some 37,000 votes – and the result is even more historic. Tellingly, young people and marginalised groups played more of a role than ever before, as traditional assumptions were proven invalid, new ideas faltered at the blocks, and old problems were brought into sharp relief. THE NATURE OF CAMPAIGNING HAS CHANGED DRAMATICALLY With a staggering, unprecedented margin of victory, it would hardly be illuminating to say that Joseph Muscat’s campaign strategy paid off. His campaign was slick and fluid: it projected the image of a modern party and moved from idea to idea quickly enough that a two-month campaign felt like a series of much shorter debates. Consequently, it set the agenda; the Nationalists all too often found themselves simply reacting. The PN’s campaign was built around the old notion that it is enough to convince voters that the other party is worse than you are – it failed to read that many people no longer reason that a minor scandal in one party is cause enough to vote for an opposing party, and spent too much time rubbishing Labour’s ideas, often without giving them the consideration and intelligent debate democracy demands. This, in turn, played nicely into accusations of arrogance and patronisation. New media has made us all more critical and analytical, and parties must start feeding in to our desire to feel clever and involved. THE OPPOSITION MUST RE-ORGANISE FAST The warning signs were all there, of course, and it is fair to say nothing the PN could have done would have saved it from defeat. But the nature of the result must be construed as an outright rejection of the party as it stands. The question now is whether it can turn things around fast enough to present a credible force in five years time, all the more important if a nine-seat majority government is to be held in check. A clearing-out is called for, followed by a period of introspection and rejuvenation. For a long time the PN has based its raison d’être on governmental competence. Now we have seen that the people demand more vision than simply 44 Sunday Circle | April 2013

the assurance of past achievement – and the party must ensure that it makes the bold decisions necessary to transcend that line of thinking and reassert its relevance.

New media has made us all more critical and analytical, and parties must start feeding in to our desire to feel clever and involved

THERE’S A GAPING HOLE IN OUR REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY Parliament, one politician noted in the aftermath of the election, now represents only 98.2 per cent of the Maltese population. The rest – 5,506 Alternattiva Demokratika voters – remain without a voice. Those voters represent far more than an electoral quota but, spread out across multiple districts, our system leaves them without representation. It is an anomaly that undermines our entire democracy. Constitutional amendments have long since established the principle that a party’s national proportion of first preference votes should determine their proportion of seats in parliament, and it’s difficult to justify a system that grants the PN four extra seats on the principle of proportionality without applying the same logic to AD. Practically all European countries provide for an electoral threshold, a set percentage of the national vote which guarantees at least a single seat in parliament. With this result now in the local record books, the big parties must begin to talk seriously about a similar measure or risk disenfranchising a growing sector. WE’RE AT A CRUCIAL JUNCTURE IN OUR POLITICAL HISTORY

WE’RE NOT DOING ENOUGH FOR WOMEN In the last legislature, the level of female representation in parliament was 8.7 per cent, the lowest figure anywhere in Europe. Unbelievably, it’s just got even worse. With the by-elections still to come, only five women have been elected, despite a considerable number of strong candidates. The received wisdom is that it is simply a question of more female candidates putting themselves forward, but that explanation is no longer enough. Certainly parties need to make more of an effort to encourage women to take the plunge, but the statistics don’t lie: the success rate among women was 12.5 per cent, as opposed to 26.2 per cent among men. The fact is that the electorate remains unreceptive to female politicians, and we can’t continue to make excuses.

With his broad movement, Joseph Muscat called for the end of the age of the political party. At the time, many were sceptical, seeing “Malta for all” as little more than a new Labour battle cry. Yet the historic nature of the result may have proved them wrong: it’s hard to argue with the idea that this result could not have been clinched by a traditional party, simply on the basis that, ultimately, it never was. If the old way is not dead, it is most certainly ill – this election has laid the foundations for a new political reality, and it’s hard to go back from that. The next five years will show whether Joseph Muscat’s vision can really bear fruit and move us into a new stage of our democratic history. But even if this particular vision falters, it has already made history, and what will rise from the resulting disillusionment will not be anything we have ever seen before. For more articles & interviews on local politics visit sundaycircle.com


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CULTURE

Culture in the City The MalTa arTs FesTival is back. PrePare For Two Full weeks of the best in art, music and performance, says artistic director Mario Frendo Photography by Nicky Scicluna The Malta Arts Festival brings a welcome dose of colour to Valletta every summer. Now in its eighth year, it has established itself as one of the foremost festivals on the cultural calendar with its delightful mixture of events by local and foreign artists and performers. This year, says Mario Frendo, the festival’s artistic director, is no exception.

“More than in previous years, we’re thinking in terms of the bigger context of Valletta 2018,” says Mario. As one of V.18’s artistic programme directors, Mario is very aware of how the numerous festivals in Malta will contribute to generating more cultural awareness, especially in the run-up to 2018.

An important focus for this year is the celebration of the European year of the citizen assigned by the European Commission to 2013. The Festival aims at continuing its commitment to bring art to all. “There is no elitism in the arts. Art is for all those who have time for it, for those who want to live a ‘better’ more colourful life,” he says.

“Culture is what we are, so let’s engage in it and invest in it. The question is always, how can we enhance our cultural product?” One way of doing this, it seems, has been to create special, lasting bonds with some of the performers who participate in the festival.

46 Sunday Circle | April 2013


culture “Since its inception, the Malta Arts Festival has always sought to establish a working relationship with artists with long-term vision,” says Mario. Take Kronos Quartet, for example, who are back this year – following numerous appearances in the festival over the years – with another incredible performance marking their 40th anniversary.

Gwerra, Familti… u Ommi will explore familial ties during wartime. Cultural identity is again explored in the third edition of The Big Band Brothers’ Ftakar. This time around, the concert is going to focus on the work and lyrics of Joe Friggieri and will also include the participation of local band Red Electrick.

These connections also open up the opportunity for more interesting collaborations with world-class performers. Last year saw the introduction of several workshops based around the festival events, and this is only going to be expanded upon in this year’s edition. “This year, we’re giving particular attention to three different workshops in the areas of dance, music and theatre with some very prominent artistic entities,” says Mario.

The festival always tries to explore new avenues, and this is reflected in what is possibly the festival’s most exciting commission yet: Dari Rari by Ċirku Malta. “Produced by Sean Buhagiar and Chris Dingli, this is a contemporary, performance-based circus drawing on nouveau-cirque ideas with a Mediterranean touch,” says Mario. The performance includes all the traditional and much-loved features of the circus mixed in with digital and narrative aspects – and without the involvement of animals.

Kronos Quartet will again be participating. “Last year’s one-day workshop was a great success, so this year, we’re offering a different sort of collaboration: a three-day residency for two string quartets.” Following their absence last year, the much-loved Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre Company returns this year with the staging of The Taming of the Shrew. They will also conduct a two-session workshop, one for actors and one for directors that is sure to attract a number of local Shakespeare aficionados. The other workshop will interest dancers and choreographers. “We have teamed up with the renowned Wayne McGregor|Random Dance Company from London and hope to start discussing the future of such events with them,” Mario says enthusiastically. The dance and theatre workshops are open to all, and participants need simply submit an application. Attendance, however, is capped, and the choice is ultimately in the hands of the companies involved. In the case of the music residency, an open call has been issued for string quartets, and only two groups will be selected for participation in the actual programme. The festival is set to kick off with a splash of colour on Sunday 30 June, with a stunning performance of Maltese flamenco by Ċikka Grima and Puerto Flamenco. “That same week, there will also be a performance by Kronos Quartet and the Globe’s staging of The Taming of the Shrew.”

The festival seeks to balance between the grander performances and the more intimate, personal ones “We also always try to give the festival a Mediterranean dimension,” explains Mario. This year, for example, the Tunisian oud player, Dhafer Youssef, is set to perform a fusion of Mediterranean and North African music and jazz. This will be followed by a dance performance by the Israeli Dance Projects, Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor. Two-Room Apartment is a very sensitive piece rated 18 for nudity that investigates the borders of intimacy: relationships, sex and love. The festival will feature another two instalments in the “Emerging Artists” series, with the Camilleri-Lucini Duo exploring an east-meets-west theme, and a piano recital by Christine Zerafa.

With such a promising start the festival will consolidate itself with a very unique concert based around the harpsichord directed by Michael Laus. “It will feature the harpsichord within the context of 20th century music, either as part of the orchestra or as a solo instrument.” This year’s edition will also see the return of The New Choral Singers who will be performing a concert of music by Giuseppe Verdi titled Viva Verdi!, to mark the 200-year anniversary since Verdi’s birth.

A visual arts exhibition entitled Swim – fragile interventions curated by Austin Camilleri will explore issues of peripheral identities, geopolitics, and territory by looking at the one and only neighbour of our Island: the sea. In Camilleri’s own words the sea is “at once a vastness beyond reach and a fierce border. Depending on the point of view, it can be a route of escape or a path to safety. What seems to be shared either way, is the idea that beyond the sea, there always lies a better life.” The festival comes to a grand close with a concert by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra performing Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin. This will be conducted by Wayne Marshall, who will be also playing the solo part.

As in previous years, the festival invites artists and performers to explore, together with their audience, the issue of cultural identity – sometimes, on a very deep and personal level. “We invited Malta-born performer, Pino Scicluna, who now lives and works in Italy, to take part in this year’s festival. He came up with the idea of a monologue recounting the war from the Italian perspective.”

“The festival seeks to balance between the grander performances and the more intimate, personal ones,” says Mario. This is also reflected in the various venues located around Valletta chosen specifically for the performances. For the eighth time running, the Malta Arts Festival 2013 promises to entertain, educate and, above all, delight its audiences, reminding us that culture is truly, all around.

The Malta Arts Festival runs from 30 June until 14 July 2013 and is supported by the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts. For tickets and further information visit maltaartsfestival.org April 2013 | Sunday Circle 47


Splendour

TRAVEL

The

of

SICILY

From beautiFul beaches and delicious cuisine to a rich and textured culture that is unique and almost unparalleled, geT ready To explore The splendour of sicily It is the largest of the Italian islands, and considered a pearl of Southern Italy. It is a beautiful blend of scents, sounds, colours and flavours, to be experienced in its entirety. It is also blessed with all natural wonders imaginable – mountains, hills and crystal-clear seas. This magical island offers a complete getaway; and an unforgettable one too. Sicily is surrounded by the Ionian, Tyrrhenian and Mediterranean Seas and can be discovered, understood and experienced through a long list of areas of interest ranging from nature to history and traditions. Sicily’s past alone is enough to make a splendid holiday – it boasts 3,000 years of history and civilisations and over the centuries it has served as a natural harbour and strategic geographical

landmark for ancient navigations of merchants in the Mediterranean. It is a land bursting with myths and legends and Sicily proudly guards an incredible treasure of history, culture, art, traditions and folklore. And till this day, it conquers and charms all visitors. The island’s blend of cultures and races through the years is reflected in its customs, food and architecture too. Greek influence will take you to the majestic temples of Segesta and Selinunte, the mythical valley of the temples of Agrigento, the theatre of Siracusa and the millenary ruins of Naxos and Camarina. Roman civilisation presents ancient villas and thermal baths in Patti and Noto while linear Arabian buildings are seen in the form of Norman cathedrals in Palermo and Monreale. From glistening blues and gold of Byzantine mosaics and pomp of the lines of the Hispanic baroque to the necropolis of the Bronze Age and villas in Liberty style,

48 Sunday Circle | April 2013


DID YOU KNOW ?

TRAVEL

How big is it? Sicily is the biggest region in Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean with a population of just over five million. The capital, Palermo, has a population of 680,000. is sicily part of italy? Sicily is a part of the Italian republic, though it maintains a semi-autonomous status with its own parliament and president. However, it has limited legislative powers.

the list is remarkably endless. Centuries of different dominations have left artistic and cultural marks, and today a holiday to Sicily lets you travel through thousands of years of history. Luxury accommodation in Sicily is also not lacking. Travellers can choose between self-catering apartments, hotels, luxury beach villas with pools as well as a great selection of cottages and farmhouses for a truly authentic Italian experience. Sicily’s marvels are just waiting to be discovered by thirsty travellers – the charm and charisma of this Mediterranean gem will captivate your mind and imagination, leaving you wishing that you never had to leave.

Do more people speak tHe sicilian Dialect or italian? Although Sicilian is referred to as an Italian dialect, it’s very different from Italian. About 70% of the people speak Sicilian, but it is usually only amongst themselves. wHat’s sicily’s weatHer like? Sicily has a classic Mediterranean climate, with very long, hot summers and mild winters. The best time to

visit is either in springtime – April to June – or at the very end of summer – September to October. wHat’s tHe geograpHy like? Sicilian terrain is mostly hilly. The eastern part is a fertile volcanic zone, while the coastline alternates between steep and rugged coasts and sandy Mediterranean beaches. Mount Etna is Europe’s largest active volcano and one of the most active in the world. wHat about tHe fooD? Sicilian cuisine is known as one of the most exotic in Italy, but also one of the most traditional. It’s a little spicier than food from the north and there’s a lot more fish to try.

April 2013 | Sunday Circle 49



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April 2013 | Sunday Circle 51



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INTERVIEW

Gianni Zammit on beinG a workaholic, his Greatest obsessions – Kiss and Kay – and his attempt to swim two Kilometres for charity Photography by Nicky Scicluna -§- Text by Martina Said Gianni Zammit needs little introduction – he is widely known as a party and radio DJ and entertainer, for his on-stage antics and for saying pretty much anything that comes to mind. Besides his involvement in the music scene, however, Gianni also runs an events management company, a childcare centre, radio station Vibe FM and a business networking company. “Am I a workaholic? Oh yes, definitely. I would go crazy without work.” 54 Sunday Circle | April 2013

“Work takes up around twenty-three and a half hours of my day, which leaves me with half an hour to spend with my girlfriend and daughter,” he jokes. “I’m trying to better my work-life balance, which isn’t easy. I don’t DJ on the radio as often as I used to but I try to keep up with everything. I also still do some acoustic gigs with my band, Rug. It is what keeps me sane.”


INTERVIEW

Gianni’s fascination with music started at a very young age and he quickly developed a liking for rock music, as well as an acute obsession with his all-time favourite band, Kiss. “I asked my mother for a guitar for my fourteenth birthday. I wanted to become a rock star. Today, my house resembles a Kiss museum. I have 42 guitars.” Always inclined to entrepreneurship, it seems, he went on to make his own tapes to play at parties and would record songs about his clique of friends to sell to them.

So, is Kay already following in her father’s footsteps? “She is a performing monkey, constantly dancing and singing. Even at parent’s day at school we were told she doesn’t stop. Sometimes, just to explain something to me, she sings it.” Is she by any chance already into Kiss too? “Well, I mean, her choice of music is not imposed on her at all,” he replies, with more than just a hint of sarcasm.

“Till this day people still think that I sleep all day and work all night because that is how I was known as a DJ – working till 6.00am and sleeping throughout the day. Today, it is the total opposite; I sleep at 10.00pm and try wake up at 5.00am. Times have changed.” Gianni adds that being self-employed has its pitfalls in that you never really stop working and often end up taking work troubles home.

He goes on to clarify: “Kiss and Kay are my two obsessions. In fact I have a Kiss fund and a Kay fund – I spend quite a lot of money on stuff related to the band, so I decided that for every Euro I spend on Kiss, I invest the same amount in Kay. It’s about priorities. She’s already quite rich... it’s my fault!”

On the other hand, however, he gets to work on projects he is passionate about. “I love everything I do – if I didn’t I would have quit ages ago,” he says. Speaking of another “thing” he is, in his own words, “obsessed with”, which sits just about above Kiss in his list of priorities, is his four year-old daughter, Kay. “She is the centre of my life now. She is so cool and a rocker already at the age of four. Her wardrobe is sorted till the age of 17 with Kiss t-shirts and clothes.”

Amid juggling between his various roles, Gianni also sets time aside for charity, his most recent upcoming event being “Challenge for a Smile”, a collaboration between Unilever and Puttinu Cares, to raise funds for cancer-affected families. How did he get involved? “I was approached by a friend to be the face of the event. I told him that, well, no one will look at me and think ‘ah, health’ but I agreed to do it because it’s all for a good cause,” he says. “It was also a good reason to get healthy – which all fits into my master plan.” April 2013 | Sunday Circle 55


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INTERVIEW

The challenge involves walking or jogging for 10km, cycling for 15km and swimming for 2km. “The organisers told me that for every 1,500 likes the Facebook page gets, I get to do one of the activities.” In order to carry out all three challenges, the page must reach 4,500 likes, which it already has surpassed. “Participants don’t have to do all three but the more the better. The idea is to bring people together and raise awareness.” He admits, however, that the swimming activity is “scaring” him. “I’m probably going to be swimming with armbands and flippers and all you’ll see above water is my head... But, bring it on!” With all the changes Gianni has experienced in recent years, he says it is never too late to reform your lifestyle if you want to. “I am 41, and up to eight years ago I did zero exercise. Before that I used to play football but now I’m just doing what I can – fitting in a few jogs in an 80-hour week can be done. You feel better, work better and get sick less too,” he says. “You feel like you can take on the day.” Challenge for a Smile charity event will take place on Sunday 21 April 2013. Visit www.challengeforasmile.com to register and take part. April 2013 | Sunday Circle 57


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HEALTH

soMetHing tosmile About Since the times of the Egyptian pharaohs, dentures were commonly used to replace single, multiple as well as full arches of teeth. A substantial percentage of the population still wear dentures today. Many are resigned to the fact that their dentures offer limited support and stability.

Dental anD Implant Surgeon Jean paul DemaJo conSIDerS the benefItS of overDentureS

AdvAntAges of dentures

disAdvAntAges of dentures

• Cheap • Aesthetic • Easy maintenance • Replace hard and soft tissues

• Removable • Mobility on chewing and talking • Loss of taste • Psychologically traumatic

a. Metal-bar attachment

b. Ball attachments

c. Locator retention clips

a. Yellow plastic clips in denture to engage on bar

b. Rubber sockets on underside of denture for ball retention

c. Fitting surface of denture with female locator attachments

Having pointed out the disadvantages, patients may still be relatively happy with their dentures. Long standing edentulism results in a large volume of bone loss. Dentures replace this large volume of bone by easily adding pink acrylic resin material below the teeth. This allows the surrounding facial tissues to remain supported, in turn reducing the signs of ageing. Fixed implant prosthetics eliminate any denture movement; but this might mean that the patient would have to undergo extensive treatment. Treatments such as invasive bone grafting, the placement of many implants and the hefty price-tag which they command, often puts patients off from choosing this fixed treatment option. There is, however, a very successful intermediate known as an overdenture. This allows patient’s to hang onto their dentures but at the same time eliminate denture mobility and loss of taste. This involves placing a couple of implants – as opposed to several implants in the fixed implant-bridge scenario – to secure the denture in place and allow for a more comfortable and stable denture, features currently lacking with conventional dentures.

AdvAntAges of over-dentures: • Replace hard and soft tissues • Easily removed to clean • Highly stable on eating and talking • Aesthetic • Cheaper than fixed-implant prosthesis 60 Sunday Circle | April 2013

In the mandible two implants may be placed in the anterior area of the jaw. Bone is always abundant in this area avoiding the need to graft bone. In the maxilla two to four implants may be required to allow for the construction of a denture without having to cover the palate (roof) of the mouth. So-called male components, such as bars, clips and balls, among others, are attached onto the implants and used to clip onto the respective female component embedded in the denture. These attachments need minor maintenance. At most the rubber or elastic sleeve in the female component would have to be changed annually. Hygiene is much easier to maintain too. The over-denture remains a removable prosthesis and may be removed daily to rinse and clean accordingly. Once out of the mouth, the patient may also clean the male components attached to the implants reducing the risk of inflammation around the implant. This gives the denture wearer added peace of mind that his or her teeth are very clean. Aesthetics are not put in question, as porcelain teeth may also be placed on dentures offering that cutting edge normally present with fixed teeth.

Over-dentures offer another treatment option for patients wishing to improve their current dental situation. It is never too late to change – after all it’s for the better!

Dr Jean Paul Demajo has trained in London and works in private practice in Malta


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Alberta is the only security company in Malta to operate a Central Monitoring Station, which provides round-the-clock fire, security and CCTV monitoring facilities. They are proud to be leading the way in IP megapixel CCTV technology in Malta, with a full portfolio of services that can be customised to meet the needs of their unique customers. Any queries on IP CCTV can be directed to the Alberta team.

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April 2013 | Sunday Circle 63


Security

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G4S Security keepS you wireleSS but connected, for your safety at all times‌ WireLeSS iNtruDer ALArMS There is no doubt that wireless home security alarm systems are becoming the preferred choice when it comes to burglar alarms in the home. DSC, a tyco international company is a world leader in wireless intruder alarms with systems that are very easy and clean to install as there is no wiring involved. The systems are very versatile and have wireless key fobs for arming and disarming, which means no difficult codes to remember. Smoke and flood detectors can easily be added to the systems. It is also possible to have numerous wireless panic buttons that you can carry with you that once pressed will trigger the panel to dial pre-programmed distress numbers. DSC systems can also operate as a home hub and include options for controlling domestic, electric and entertainment appliances. DSC Wireless systems run on battery power, hence assuring that the system will continue to work even during an electricity cut, keeping your home secured at all times. This system can be connected to the G4S base, which is manned 24/7. Whenever an alarm is activated the system automatically sends out a signal alerting the person on duty to immediately initiate emergency protocols, such as contacting the police or a nominated contact person.

SiMONS-VOSS - eLectrONic LOcKiNG SySteMS Imagine having a bunch of keys where each one opens a single door around your home and on a bad day you lose them or they are stolen. Changing the locks and replacing keys can be a very costly solution, which makes the conventional mechanical lock systems problematic. Simons-Voss a German company has eliminated all these concerns by introducing electronic cylinders and smart handles into the market. The company develops and produces award winning electronic locking systems that seamlessly integrate into new and existing building infrastructures, with first class design that adjusts with every type of decor. These systems are highly secured and easy to install, simply by replacing the existing mechanical system with the electronic cylinder or the smart handle. As the system is battery operated there is no wiring involved and is extremely efficient with very low maintenance. The user will only need one smart card or transponder to open all the doors and if lost or stolen, they can easily be deleted from the system and a new one added. Simons-Voss’ latest development is the Mobile key, where the company has developed an all-inclusive solution for using smart phones as digital keys based on near field communication technology (NFC). In this solution, smart phones can be used as freely programmable identification media.

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Travellers determine the future in search of new experiences and fresh insights. Spurred by a streak of youthful daring, these adventurers sometimes spend months or years roaming the world with a carefree attitude. These travels, however, are not without their peculiar set of mishaps, all of which leave their mark, build character and give new perspectives. As travellers become more experienced, such hiccups are avoided through hindsight. A rich travel experience is a proverbial university of life, and many graduates from various countries immerse themselves in an enriching, extended travel period in order to gain a complete education. Others opt for all the comforts of guided tourist travel.

Here is an exciting opportunity to experience the best of both worlds: to compress all the unique destinations and experiences of the seasoned traveller with the desired comfort and safety of tourist travel. This June 2013, ten individuals can embark on the journey of their dreams… With activities ranging from Himalayan trails to the Jungles of Southern India, and living amid cultures with traditions dating back thousands of years, SolJera Adventure launches the EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURE ASIA 2013 – an experience that takes travel to a different level. Enjoy the calm waters of Phewa lake after a trek-venture 66 Sunday Circle | April 2013


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Antoine Galea travelled solo in Asia for a year in 2010. Starting from Southern India and traversing northwards along the West Indian Coast, eventually reaching the Nepali Himalayas and trekking along diverse Himalayan routes. Antoine also has a keen interest in the film industry. He has taken on various roles in both the local theater scene as well as international film production. E: info@soljera.com |W: http://www.soljera.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/soljera | M: +356 9969 0258

April 2013 | Sunday Circle 67


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HERITAGE

SONGS FATHERS of our

Musician and vocalist Justin Galea speaks to Katryna Storace about Lo caL muSic, GHana and feeling at home in the ma ltese language

Photography by Nicky Scicluna Photomanipulation by Sarah Scicluna

70 Sunday Circle | April 2013


HERITAGE

in Zejtun with friends for ea heads down to Ta’ Ġanna Bar Gal in Just g, rnin mo day Sun a Sometimes, on the bar’s regulars. A musician neous għana performances by nta spo the to n liste to and i aspect of his own identity. tea and pastizz ess, but because it represents an intn qua of out not it to wn dra s himself, he feel whole experience: just ,” he says. “I genuinely enjoy the ure cult own our ng nci erie exp I like experiencing “Għana is my way of the music,” he says. “It’s because to g nin liste , day Sun a on nds being there with my frie its context.” the local culture of a place within

April 2013 | Sunday Circle 71


HERITAGE There is also added feature of its authenticity – one of the qualities inherent in this particular strand of folk music. “Għana is improvised and spontaneous, what you’d call spirtu pront.” It tends to take shape around informal battibekki between one għannej and another – the kind of thing you’d today encounter in a rappers’ showdown. “These can be about the smallest of things, say, a physically deformity,” says Justin. “Għana is also about a particular quality in the voice and is accompanied by guitars and other instruments, and is sung in Maltese using day-to-day jargon.” I remark that there seems to be a growing interest in going back to our roots and rediscovering the music of our fathers – does he agree? “Yes, I think that there is currently a renewed interest in Maltese folk music – but also in music in Maltese,” he replies. “Language is one of those aspects of our culture we don’t appreciate as much as we should,” says Justin. “I speak Maltese because it’s very natural for me to do so. It’s also easier for me to understand and interpret lyrics in Maltese especially when it comes to articulation when I am singing.” Last year, Justin was responsible for organising – on his own initiative – the musical festival Lissen, intended as a

“Plato’s Dream Machine started as a folk trio and grew to incorporate six members with a more folk-waltzy sound,” says Justin, who plays keyboards and sings the backing tracks in the ensemble. Despite its folk roots, however, he is keen to point out that, like other Maltese bands toying about with more traditional forms of music, Plato’s Dream Machine is a “work in progress”. “We continually grow and develop into something more complex and different,” and this, perhaps, is the beauty of all music when it comes from a sincere place: it is organic and open to the context that shapes it. The same, surely, can be said of għana – and this is why Għanafest, organised by the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts, remains such an important appointment on our cultural calendar. “Għanafest is very much about the present,” says Justin.

Ghana is also about a particular quality in the voice and is accompanied by guitars and other instruments, and is sung in Maltese using day-to-day jargon

72 Sunday Circle | April 2013

celebration of local music sung entirely in Maltese. “I’ve always felt that it’s easier for a Maltese-speaking audience to listen to a song in Maltese, and this creates a very unique two-way relationship between the performers and audience.” The line-up included the likes of Brikkuni, Vince Fabri, KażinSka, Particle Blue and one of Justin’s own projects, Plato’s Dream Machine.

The festival places għana on a contemporary stage and invites audiences to listen and connect with it. “The fact that the artistic director Ruben Zahra puts għana on the same platform as folk music from various other countries sends out the message that it is important for it to be represented at such a level.” As a performer, Justin feels that every performer must be given the chance to play to an appreciative audience. “I think that the daqqaqa and għannejja enjoy the experience of being at Għanafest where they can mix with other performers and play to such a varied audience.” This, in a sense, also helps to keep the spirit of għana alive, as does the participation of the younger generation. “There are also some young għannejja who are keen on keeping alive the tradition of għana, and some of these are actually very good,” Justin adds. Together with the traditional għannejja they give the scene a contemporary edge giving għana the rare distinction of a music that brings together past and present. Għanafest 2013 will be held on 7, 8 and 9 June in the marvellous surroundings of the Argotti botanical gardens in Floriana. For more information visit www.maltafolkmusicfestival.org.




TECHNOLOGY

HAS FACEBOOK CHANGED THE WAY WE VALUE FRIENDSHIP? RACHEL AGIUS INVESTIGATES

T

he internet has changed everything. At present, nearly a decade after the launch of social networking giant Facebook, a tenuous and fascinating interaction between real life and the online world is evolving. Take for instance, online dating. Where you would once have made an

initial value judgment on someone’s looks, voice and complexion, making an online connection first and foremost depends on personality or at the very least, conversational skills. In both cases, duplicity is possible – just take a look at how blind dates end, whether brokered online or through a friend. April 2013 | Sunday Circle 75


TECHNOLOGY

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Similarly, social media has altered the way friends are made and lost. Once, long long ago, people met in public places or at social gatherings and started conversations – maybe exchanged phone numbers. In later years, that same interaction would be followed by a Facebook search and the “Add Friend” button would be clicked enthusiastically: friend made. Today though, this process seems to have been reversed. Connections are often made on Facebook first, usually through mutual friends or having the same interests or enjoying the same meme, without ever having met in person. Because of the relative youth of Facebook and of our eagerness to expose our private lives online, real social situations do not yet come with an accepted convention for bridging the virtual-real gap (maybe it’s in the next update). This leads to an interesting predicament. How do you address someone you’ve only ever interacted with online? Sure, you both like Grumpy Cat, have a good friend in common and have “Liked” each other’s posts often enough. But it is surprisingly hard to start a conversation based on those facts alone. There are, however, a few options you could try. You could approach them and hope you do not come across as a stalker as you happily announce “Hello! I know you from Facebook!” If you manage to pull this off, be sure not to mention their 2009 holiday in Antigua – the photos of which you have recently perused. It’s a dead giveaway. Alternitavely, you could stand at a respectable distance, attempting to catch their eye and hopefully see a flicker of recognition. Maybe your chosen profile picture was a little over-flattering and you are simply not recognisable in real life. You may feel the beginnings of a small existential crisis coming on. Of course people do still have reallife friends. They have simply become constantly accessible. In-jokes are shared on “walls”, cryptic statuses elicit the occasional “LOL” from those in the know, and coffee dates are planned, sometimes in full view of the all-seeing public eye. And this is the clincher when it comes to social media: you cannot really

76 Sunday Circle | April 2013

call it prying when there is no effort to hide the information in question. Perhaps people have not yet begun to understand the dangers of poor privacy controls. Perhaps they do and are fine with it. Either way, the minutiae of daily life appear in a constant stream on your Facebook newsfeed. And if you are anything like me, who can remember the names of all the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles but cannot remember my own phone number, this useless information tends to stick. As a result, I know way too much about my Facebook friends, more than I would ever dream of asking about in a regular conversation. Knowing all this extra detail is somewhat annoying when you realise you are wasting valuable mental memory space with the gory details of, say, your great-aunt’s recent hip replacement. When you’re nursing a less-than-chaste interest in someone, things are different. She’s posted song lyrics? You find the name of the song and then spend the next week memorising the lyrics. He posts a clip from his favourite movie? Spend several hours reading up on that movie, learning all the actors’ names, what other work they’ve produced and other useless trivia, all in the hopes that at some point in the distant future, this information will come in handy. You keep a close watch on their relationship status and scrutinise their weekend photo uploads in an attempt to identify any potential rivals for their affection. Saying “Hi” in a private message takes hours of deliberation, pondering all the possible responses. And what if they “Like” your status/comment/upload? A flurry of excitement and confusion – what could it mean?! The web has revolutionised everything it has touched. Our constant and intentional interaction with Facebook – a repository of pictures, emotions, interests and life events – is redefining all our relationships in some way; sometimes imperceptibly, sometimes rather obviously, and often unexpected. Walking into a crowded room will never be the same again – no one will be a complete stranger and you will have probably come to some conclusions about them already.



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masthead Our friendships, like our internet connection, have become high-speed, fast-tracking intimacy that would normally take several meetings to establish in real life. That intimacy can backfire too. “De-friending” or “unfriending”, as it is known, is a bold and rather final virtual act, deleting any and all connection between one online presence and another. Perhaps this is why Facebook has implemented other strategies to limit interaction, ones that are not quite as abrupt and inelegant, like the somewhat timid “unsubscribe” option. De-friending is leaving the room and slamming the door behind you. Unsubscribing is more like declining a second biscuit with your tea. Still, people often do not realise they have been de-friended. There is no notification of any kind. One notices they’ve been de-friended by accident, often a long time after the fact. Most are not surprised – a falling out or breakups are valid reasons – but some are outraged or hurt. The value of an online friendship is difficult to quantify, as is its loss. These questions are constantly being grappled with as technology becomes a constant backdrop to social interactions.

Our friendships, like our internet connection, have become high-speed, fast-tracking intimacy that would normally take several meetings to establish in real life And once our mortal bandwidth has expired? Even death, easily the most human of concerns, is not free from its grasp. Facebook profiles of the deceased may be, at the request of the family, shut down, frozen or turned into a kind of memorial page – a permanent, virtual and easily accessible tribute to the dearly departed. Facebook has almost become a person in itself; nosy, easy to talk to, with a terrifyingly good memory. It’s worth remembering that Facebook can only give out wha you put in, giving a new meaning and perhaps new value to the phrase “leaving something to the imagination”.

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HEALTH

the

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When Weight is piled on the risk of diabetes soars – and with obesity on the increase, the condition is fast becoming the epidemic of the 21st century text by mariella camilleri

Although most of us probably know someone who suffers from diabetes, the condition remains ambiguous and complex to those outside the medical world. While it’s clear that diabetics must avoid sugar, little seems to be known about the disorder or the complications that may arise if it’s left untreated. In Malta, diabetes affects 35,000 people and possibly several others who are yet to be diagnosed. Prof. Steven Fava, who specialises in the condition, explains that there are two types of diabetes, and both can occur in any age group and gender. “Type 2 diabetes is linked to a diet high in sugar and fat, lack of exercise and genetic factors. The reason for type 1 diabetes, however, remains unknown, though research suggests that it may also be partly related to dietary habits,” he says. “Type 1 tends to be more common in children and youths although it can still occur at any age.” When diabetes strikes, the hormone insulin fails to convert glucose into fuel for energy and this leads to a rise in blood sugar. In type 2 patients, the body becomes resistant to the insulin it produces, while in type 1, the body stops producing insulin completely. For Jessica Bromberg, the battle against diabetes began at the age of 24 while she was working in California. April 2013 | Sunday Circle 81


HEALTH “News of the diagnosis came as a surprise, because I was working out regularly and living on salads. It was the weight-loss that first caught my attention. Initially, I was really pleased – however, as my weight continued to plunge, I knew that something was wrong.” Thirst, hunger pangs, loss of concentration and moodiness soon followed. “One morning I realised that my face felt stiff and I couldn’t smile. Driving also became an impossible chore.” Having just embarked on her first job, Jessica was not yet covered by US medical insurance and kept delaying a visit to the doctor. Furthermore, her family members, who were based in Malta, were oblivious to symptoms that had taken over her life. Four months later, her friends, alarmed at the amount of weight she had lost, encouraged her to seek help. “By then I felt lethargic and miserable. My skin was sore and I felt like I was crumbling to pieces,” she says. Within hours she was hospitalised, and diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Doctors later explained to Jessica that lack of insulin had caused glucose levels to rise, leading to dehydration. “For a few days I was hooked to a drip, unable to move; but soon after, my mood lifted, my energy returned and I began to feel better.” During her recuperation, the medical team taught her how to self-inject a dose of insulin

and instructed her to monitor her condition. “Their practical and positive outlook towards diabetes made the condition easier to accept.” According to Prof. Fava, the early stages of diagnosis can be difficult. “Patients and families tend to experience shock and denial before coming to terms with the illness – unfortunately, it’s common for patients with type 2 diabetes to trivialise the condition, even though they find it hard to accept in the initial stages.” Dietary changes are essential, as starchy foods can cause glucose levels to rise. Skipping meals can also result in disaster, says Jessica. “I can always tell when I am about to have a hypoglycaemic episode – usually I start to tremble, I feel weak and I experience a sense of confusion.” Palpitations, sweating, lack of judgement, aggressive behaviour and impaired consciousness are all symptoms that are experienced when there is a dip in blood sugar levels. The specialist explains that during these episodes, a sugary drink and a snack will control the symptoms. “In cases where patients become unconscious, relatives may help by injecting a glucagon substance to stabilise glucose levels.” Regular doctor’s visits and blood sugar monitoring, can help to ward off numerous complications that may arise from untreated diabetes.

DID YOU KNOW? WORLDWIDE more than

180,000,000 suffer from the disease

IN EUROPE

60million people suffer from diabetes

10.3% of MEN

+ 9.6% of WOMEN

over the age of 25

DAMAGE to the nerves (diabetic neuropathy) affects up to 50% of people with diabetes

50%

of people with diabetes die of cardiovascular disease

10-20% die of kidney failure

82 Sunday Circle | April 2013

Source: diabetes.co.uk


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HEALTH Early diagnosis is key says Prof. Fava. “Type 2 diabetes is very common in Malta. A change to a healthy lifestyle is essential in both the prevention and treatment of diabetes. Treatment is adapted to the particular patient. Good control of diabetes is paramount in order to avoid complications.” Being well-informed about the condition also helps patients to cope better. Anna Zammit Mckeon, president of the Malta Diabetes Association, says that the group provides a place where those affected may meet, discuss and receive information about the disorder. “Our aim,” she adds, “is to

increase awareness and education, and to improve the conditions of those who live with diabetes both as regards treatment and social problems.” Essentially, patients learn to look on the brighter side. Jessica believes that if doctors in the US hadn’t provided a positive approach towards her diabetes, she’d still be struggling with health complications. “I will always have to take insulin. However, healthy eating and regular work outs have helped me to keep the diabetes under control. Ultimately, one learns to manage the condition and life simply goes on...”

Good control of diabetes is paramount in order to avoid complications

Blood Glucose Monitoring Monitoring your health when you have diabetes is crucial to preventing some of the complications associated with diabetes. Self Blood Glucose Testing Many people can’t see the point of testing. They often say that they know when their blood glucose levels are too high. Unfortunately this is often not true. Unless your blood glucose level is very high, the way you feel is not always a good and accurate guide to what is actually happening in your body. Home blood glucose testing gives an accurate picture of your blood glucose level at the time of the test. It involves pricking the side of your finger with a finger-pricking device and putting a droplet of blood on a testing strip. A diabetic meter will read the result automatically. Your healthcare team can advise about which meter and how often to test is best for you. Keeping a diary of your results will help you and your healthcare team work out whether your treatment needs to be adjusted.

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MUSIC

hEy, SoUlFuL SiStEr Young, soulful and brimming with passion, singer and songwriter alex alden is already leaving her footprints on Malta’s Music scene... text by Martina said photography by nicky scicluna There is an edge to Alex Alden that sets her apart – she is small and appears slightly timid at first, but soon enough, her personality belies this first impression. She introduces herself with a big smile, and a few minutes into our conversation, I begin to realise that her profound understanding of and love for music makes her wiser beyond her mere 18 years. “I think I aged prematurely,” she jokes. Music has played a central role in Alex’s life from a tender age – she grew up listening to her father play the guitar and was exposed to a variety of artists and styles. “I lived in Germany from the age of two until nine and I’d fall asleep during long drives in the car listening to Black Sabbath, Sting and Phil Collins,” she says. Her father a musician and her mother an artist, Alex felt naturally inclined towards both paths, as well as torn between the two. ..

April 2013 | Sunday Circle 87


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MUSIC

U

ntil recently, in fact, she was considering a career in illustration. But music got the better of her and she now understands that making music is her purpose in life. “Music had an impact on me early on. I remember being five years old and listening to a song that really touched me; it reminded me of my grandparents back home and I cried because I missed them.” Today, listening to and making her own music has an even deeper meaning. As a young teenager, she enjoyed writing poems and making notes in a diary she kept, later encouraging her to try her hand at songwriting. This was the case with “Dancing Alone” – a single she started writing at 15 after experiencing her first heartbreak, and which now sits alongside another four of her songs on her debut EP titled The Curious Child. “I never really know what I want to write about – I just remember phrases, words, events and they start to come together and make sense,” she says. “I start by focusing on a message and then use my personal experiences to clarify and send that message across. I try to write with the greatest honesty I can and that’s why I know it’s good.” “Whatever has an effect on me inspires me” – from memories and experiences to books and fantasy. “A breakup, for instance, changes you emotionally. A friend once told me that you can only write real songs once you’ve had your heart broken and I believe it’s true.” For two years, Alex underwent voice training in classical music. She says it was a beneficial experience, but also made her aware that classical music was not her style. “For many years I couldn’t find a band that I was happy with so I learned to play guitar, sing and write my own songs. I did whatever sounded good to me.” As a solo artist, she’s teamed up with different musicians and artists, performing cover songs as well as her own music. Alex says she is able to communicate with musicians on stage with ease – “It’s as though we communicate telepathically and to read each other’s emotions. If musicians are honest then it’s easy.” What does she mean by “honest musicians”? “I emphasise ‘honesty’ because there are many people making music nowadays that get caught up in the celebrity of it all and forget about the music – they’ll be thinking about their music video before even recording the song. But when you meet honest musicians, you instantly make friends.” Music brings people together and this, she feels, is one of the forces that drive her. “Sharing an experience with people is why you do it – to figure yourself out and to help them figure you out.” Alex says living in Germany helped foster her interest in music, and, till this day, her songs are inspired by her experiences there. She recalls being awed by nature, the changing seasons and snow. “It was a different life, a parallel universe to Malta. We had a large garden and I loved the freedom of running around in forests – I had a fun time but I also missed home and as a child I couldn’t feel secure there. I haven’t been back since returning to Malta... I imagine it would be very different now.”

I never really know what I want to write about – I just remember phrases, words, events and they start to come together and make sense

April 2013 | Sunday Circle 89


As she grew older, she taught herself to translate feelings of sadness and loneliness into song and poetry – feelings she experienced both during her time in Germany and while trying to settle back here. “I learned a lot by writing my thoughts down and listening to music also helped me get through difficult times, so I started looking at music as an art form.” She is now also hoping to turn her passion into a career – she’s collaborated with Martin McNeill and the Dissidents on various occasions, also performing backing vocals on their debut album; performed with Stalko at the Orpheum Theatre; worked with producer Mark Mcrae on her first EP, and was invited to perform at last year’s edition of Teatru Unplugged. “Performing at the Manoel Theatre was on my bucket list; the fact that I’ve done it already is incredible.”

When you’re on stage singing alone, you feel as though you’re exposing a part of your soul, but you grow accustomed to it

Alex admits that in spite of the drawbacks – she’s relatively new on the local music scene and has personally forked out expenses from her own self-admittedly shallow pockets – she’s doing well for herself. “I was so shy to go on stage when I was younger. I couldn’t even sing in front of my parents; for a long time I’d get panic attacks. When you’re on stage singing alone, you feel as though you’re exposing a part of your soul, but you grow accustomed to it.” By the looks of it, she really has. And so long as she’s got “a roof over her head and food to eat”, making music is what she intends to continue doing. “Money comes and goes; I just need to make the most of what I have now. I cannot stand to work in something that I don’t enjoy,” she reflects. “I need to be expressing myself – it sounds self-indulgent but music is that way I suppose. It is everything.” d The Curious Child EP will be launched on Saturday 13 April at the Salesian’s Theatre at 8.30pm. The event is sponsored by Piscopo Gardens and the Malta Arts Fund. 90 Sunday Circle | April 2013


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1: Marc Von Brockdorff & Daniela Vella

2: Pavli Medvedova, Steph Lauri & Pamela Aitchison

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5: George Curmi, Rose & Julian Refalo, Marika & Marjoe Muscat

3: Marcette Fabri, Renee Micallef Decesare, Pamela Aitchison & Claire Abela • 1-3: Franks Perfumery hosted the presentation of the new fragrance Versace Eros for Men on 26 March. • 4-5: Marika Muscat's 40th Birthday Party held at the Quarterdeck Hilton Malta on 23 February. • 6: The Choco-Fest Grand Opening which was held at Bay Street in collaboration with Nestle on 30 March. • 7-9: A news conference held at Hard Rock Cafe, St Julian's to launch this year's edition of Hard Rock Rising. • 10-11: The Malta Football Association hosted an official dinner for Northern Ireland FA and Austria FA officials. The dinner was held at the Farson's Brewery, Mriehel. * For inclusion in Circle Paparazzi contact Marisa Schembri on marisa@networkpublications.com.mt

6: Jocelyn Cuomo, Samantha Selby, Renee Micallef Decesare & Philip Galea.

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From sparkling Floors to spotless bathrooms, here are a Few easy ways to keep your home in tip top condition…

CLEANING SERVICES SHINE THROUGH

LAUNDRY

& DRY CLEANING EVERY LITTLE DETAIL...

At V.S.V. Cleaning we provide first-class cleaning services to some of the most respected companies and homes across the Maltese Islands. It is a family-run business with experience in commercial and residential cleaning services including window cleaning, general cleaning and carpet cleaning. We have highly trained and experienced staff dedicated to meet customers’ needs. VSV Cleaning Services, Email: info@vsvcleaning.com Mobile: 7944 1174 Website: vsvcleaning.com

Car maintenance SHINE FOR LONGER Aqua Wax is specially formulated to impart a brilliant smear-free finish on ALL exterior surfaces, even when the vehicle is wet. The immediate benefit is that there is no need to dry the car between washing and polishing. Aqua Wax is suitable for all paint types including metallics, as well as rubber, plastic and glass.

Swan laundry and dry cleaning pays attention to every little detail. The freshness of a sheet, the softness of a towel and the whiteness of a napkin – as discerning customers, we all look out for that little detail which matters to us. At Swan we strive to provide this little detail which distinguishes us from all the others. Our advanced technology, our technical expertise and our impeccable service have all been enhanced to offer our clients the possibility of providing their own customers with the best service and detail that matters to them. Proven standards, proven satisfaction.

Swan Laundry & dry cleaning, BLB 044, Industrial Estate, Bluelebel ZTN 3000 Tel: 2169 1414 Email: admin@swanlaundry.com.mt

April 2013 | Sunday Circle 95


PROMOTION

vacuum cleaning

®

CLEANING DUST HAS NEVER BEEN SO EASY The Bosch Relaxx’x ProSilence Plus bagless vacuum cleaner is impressive in performance and scope thanks to the proven RobustAirTM system. It is also quiet – so quiet that you can do the vacuuming late at night. With its three litre volume, it takes a while for the dust container to become full, which is then easy to remove, empty and rinse if desired. The vacuum cleaner’s innovative Cleanstream filter with membrane technology by Gortem ensures that dust and dirt cannot block the pores. The Relaxx’x operates at maximum performance and reduces the need for maintenance.

Exclusively distributed by: Oxford House Ltd, Notabile Road, Tel: 2546 4000 Email: info@oxfordhouse.com.mt www.oxfordhouse.com.mt

The World of Marine Care CLEANS, POLISHES AND PROTECTS

Maintain and restore your boat this summer using our range of Autosol marine products. We offer a large variety of products including shampoos, specialized polish, wax, stain and tough dirt remover and many more. The marine shine polish provides the best marine polishing power while protecting your surfaces from sun and sea damage. For more info call the agents: Mosta road, St Paul’s Bay. Tel: 2157 3465 | Mob: 9990 0555 Email: dads13@onvol.net Also available at other leading outlets. 96 Sunday Circle | April 2013

M.C.C.S Co Ltd. “Degiorgo Buildings”, Triq L’Gherusija, Balzan. Tel: 2142 0217 / 2144 9926 / 2148 6136 | Fax: 2141 9167 Mob: 9942 3330 / 7923 4248 Email: mrclean@onvol.net | www.mrcleanmalta.com SERVICES • Turnkey construction cleaning • Carpet and upholstery cleaning • Contract cleaning • Window cleaning • Floor maintenance • Maid service • First Time Cleaning • Kitchen cleaning • Boat cleaning Call us for a free quotation Mr Clean Carwash Centre Iklin Mob: 7970 6050


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Sofa + 2 Carpets

€80

Up to 5 seater

2 Carpets + 2 Free

€45

Total 4 carpets

Sofa + 3 Mattresses

€100

Free senitizing for dustmites

Sofa + 3 Roman Blinds + 3 Mattresses + 2 Pair of Curtains + 4 Carpets / Rugs

€150

This offer is valid for Malta only • Gozo is an additional €20 Mob: 9925 5511 www.sofacleaningmalta.com

Lawrence Sofa & Upholstery cleaning

Month 2013 | Sunday Circle 000


FOOD & DRINK

SAN MICHEL FRUITWAVES San Michel Fruitwaves is a range of light and refreshing flavoured water available in a variety of fruity flavours: strawberry, orange, lemon & lime, peach and apple. Fruitwaves are low in calories, contain no artificial colours or sweeteners and are rich in vitamin B.

TASTY DELIGHT

GREEK YOGHURT MEVGAL’s Fitline strained yoghurt with fruits, has only 0.9% fat without sacrificing the full creamy taste of Greek strained yoghurt combined with delicious fruit pieces. It is a totally natural yoghurt made with natural sweeteners and no sugar additives. Choose your favourite flavours and enjoy a healthy and light meal!

Quintano Foods Ltd - 2381 4556

98 Sunday Circle | April 2013

If you are craving a treat, try a delicious Go Ahead Yoghurt Break a mouth watering yoghurt flavour topping on a light crispy biscuit & packed with a range of delicious sultana & fruit flavored fillings all under 76 calories per slice. Available in Forest Fruit, Raspberry, Strawberry, Blueberry, Tropical Fruit & Red Cherry. You can also choose from a variety of Mc Vitie’s Go Ahead Slices. Available from all leading supermarkets, confectioneries & food outlets. No day is complete without Go Ahead biscuits, low in fat, healthy and delicious. Make it a Mc Vitie’s day every day. Trade enquires: Tel: 2144 1768 | Email: info@ strand.com.mt Like us on Facebook

San Michel Fruitwaves: Choose your taste!


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April 2013 | Sunday Circle 99


SHOPPING

1. AkAmuti Exotic SpicE Roll-on

5. kiSSAblE bAlm

Award-winning company Akamuti brings us this 100% natural, aromatic exotic spice roll-on with a deep spicy fragrance and refreshing fruity undertones of May Chang. Frankincense has a soothing & energising effect when inhaled, while myrrh helps to encourage positive thoughts. Roll this over your temples and your wrist to clear the mind & help put things into perspective. Akamuti products are not tested on animals. Found exclusively at Shanti, Main Street, Mosta. Tel: 2141 4473.

Prepare for the perfect kiss with Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain, a pampering balm fused with a lightweight lipstain that gives you softer, smoother lips with a perfect flush of colour that lasts. And get ready to fall in love with Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain’s moisturising formula, available in seven vibrant shades. The smooth gel formula glides on beautifully, giving lips a shiny kissable look and feel. Distributed by Charles deGiorgio Ltd. Tel: 2560 0504.

2. GEt YouR nAilS noticEd

6. Scholl’S nEW pARtY ShoE to thE REScuE

For classic, French, decorated or trendsetting nails look no further than Elegant Touch. Easy to apply, natural comfortable fit, perfect for up to seven days. Also available in the Elegant Touch range: Nail Treatments, Nail White Pencils, Nail Files, Nail Clippers, Emery Boards, Tweezers, Scissors. Elegant Touch products are distributed by von Brockdorff Imports Ltd. Tel: 2123 2141.

The new Party Feet Pocket Ballerina flats from Scholl fold up neatly into a woman’s handbag, ready to use at any time. They are the must-have accessory for “when you just can’t stand to wear heels anymore”, with padded full-length insoles for improved comfort, and elastic trim for a better fit. Pocket Ballerina Shoes are available from Scholl Foothealth Centres, leading pharmacies and supermarkets. Trade Enquires: Pharma-Cos Ltd. Tel: 2144 1870. TM

3. Scholl Soft And Smooth hEElS

7. kElloGG’S SpEciAl k REd bERRiES bARS

Scholl Cracked Heel Express Stick is a convenient and practical way to keep your repaired heels beautifully soft and smooth. Don’t be shy, be Scholl. Available from all leading pharmacies, supermarkets and Scholl Foothealth Centres. Trade enquires: Pharma-Cos Ltd. Tel. 2144 1870.

When you’re on a mission to look and feel great, you need a few secret weapons. Meet some of the best little snack bars around: Special K® Red Berries Cereal Bars. When you need a mid-morning snack or a yummy way to curtail those afternoon munchies, these strawberry flavored cereal bars are made to satisfy with rice and whole grain wheat flakes, sweet strawberries, and oh-so-yummy icing. And the best kept secret? Each Special K® Red Berries Cereal Bar is 88 calories! Charles Darmanin & Company Ltd. Tel: 2269 3000 | info@charlesdarmanin.com

4. thE chEApESt 3G ExpERiEncE on AndRoid tAblEt If you were looking for a great but affordable tablet then look no more! The Vodafone Smart Tab II 7” comes with an upgradeable 4.0 OS and allows access to Google Play, the Internet, news, videos and much more. It is compact and lightweight making it the perfect tablet to carry in your bag. Built by Lenovo with Vodafone approved quality, the Vodafone Smart Tab II 7’’comes at an affordable €249.

8. WhAt YouR hAndWRitinG SAYS About You Your handwriting says a lot about you… and so does the pen you hold. That’s why over a century’s experience as pen pioneers Platignum has led us to create this distinctive range of quality pens. From the self-filling ranges we manufactured in 1919, we invented the world’s first replacement nib, created the retractable ballpoint in 1950 and introduced the first cartridge system. We’ve been writing the history of the pen for generations and are continuing to innovate for the future. Trade enquiries: Golden Gate Co Ltd. Tel: 2138 2245 | goldengate@gg.com.mt

6 7

8

100 Sunday Circle | April 2013

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April 2013 | Sunday Circle 101


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HI-TECH

MOAI Bollard.

TECHNO Spotlight.

Gemco Ltd.

any in outdoor lighting, offers a 10 different project applications nt product family types that can ng technologies and efficiencies. Simes lighitng fittings to design

Msida Valley Road, Msida Email: sales@gemco.com.mt Tel: 2148 8919 www.simes.com

inting with light.

PROMOBILE CAR WASH WWW.PROMOBILECARWASH.COM facebook.com/promobilecarwash

MOAI Bollard.

Welcome to Promobile Car Wash, a mobile car wash company offering you premium car wash services in Malta. Get your car washed within minutes any place you want, without visiting a faraway car wash center and having to take time off work. call us and we will send our mobile car valet unit that is fully equipped to wash your car inside out, giving it a thorough brand new look. Booking Nr: 7988 0317 All online bookings or facebook comments are confirmed within minutes.

toYotA YARIS In designing the new generation Toyota Yaris, Toyota has produced a look that is bolder, sharper and more dynamic, while remaining true to the principle of “compact outside, spacious inside” that has characterized this best-selling model. Also for the first time in its segment, Yaris comes with Touch & Go technology which consists of 6.1” multimedia system which allows complete connectivity with your iPod, mobile phones etc, allows you to browse the internet, provides full map satellite navigation and also has a rear-view parking camera. Test Drive the New Generation Yaris by visiting the toyota Showroom, Zebbug Tel: 2269 4000

www.simes.com

Ponsomby Street, Mosta MST 4032 2143 2571, 2143 6186, 2143 2951 info@vct.com.mt www.vct.com.mt Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 08.00 to 18.00 Thu 08.00 to 20.00 (Late Night) Sat 09.00 to 12.30

102 Sunday Circle | April 2013


Help your children learn how to save The MSV Child Savings Plan For more information on the MSV Child Savings Plan contact MSV Life today on freephone 8007 2220, or visit our website at www.msvlife.com, or contact your Tied Insurance Intermediary, your Insurance Broker or visit any branch of Bank of Valletta or APS Bank.

MSV Life p.l.c. is authorised by the Malta Financial Services Authority to carry on long term business under the Insurance Business Act, 1998. Bank of Valletta and APS Bank are enrolled as Tied Insurance Intermediaries of MSV Life p.l.c. COM 231112

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Come and see where smiles are made and Celebrate PlaY! Bring your kids and participate in the fun, view the new 2013 novelties and for a little break, our cafeteria offers a broad range of snacks at family friendly prices. Playmobil FunPark, HF80, Industrial Estate, Hal Far t: 2224 2445 e: funpark@playmobilmalta.com opening hours: Mon-Sun 10.00 - 18.00 by bus: Route no. X4 by car: Proceed to the Airport then follow the signposts

JOIN OUR FUNPARK FREE

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ACCESS AT THE PLAYMOBIL FUNPARK

www.playmobilmalta.com April 2013 | Sunday Circle 103


HI-TECH MoNster DiaMoND tears HeaDPHoNes Bold fashion meets unbeatable Monster Sound™ in a stunning diamond-inspired design. The Monster technology experts collaborated with international superstar JYP to develop a headphone that’s world-class in both sound and style. You can enjoy fantastic sound quality with the Monster Diamond Tears headphones, so you can listen to all your favourite tunes in awesome quality whilst impressing others with their stylish design. The eye-catching teardrop diamond design is a show-stopper in any situation! You’ll hear more of your music thanks to their noise isolating design, keeping more music in, and other noise out. They’re easy to use thanks to the tangle-free cable, whilst the 3.5 mm connector has a low profile right-angle connector. the in-line microphone and volume control lets you use Control talk to answer phone calls when you’re out and about using your headphones. Experience the entire range of Monster Headphones at any Forestals or Matrix outlet. www.forestals.com | info@forestals.com | 2343 6000

MoNo-bloCk swiMMiNg Pools The installation of a pool is the best choice you can make; a pool provides you with exercise, entertainment, health and leisure.The installation of a Multiforma Swimming Pool will raise the value and image of your home. Why Fiberglass? The rapid development of new materials has also affected the pool sector. Traditional materials could become porous and crack, and require frequent recoating. Multiforma pools have an adequate balance of structural strength, durability and elasticity to ground movements. aqualine has been installing these pools locally for the past eight years.

aQualiNe, 28 Mill Street, Qormi. Tel: 2149 3400 / 9949 7594 www.aqualine.com.mt

MUSIC AL FRESCO Environmental speakers offer exceptionally broad, even coverage to satisfy most outdoor applications thanks to a radial design that enables 360˚ sound dispersion. A rugged weatherresistant casing allows the speakers to be partially buried in the ground, making them hardly noticeable. Experience the lifelike performance of Bose FreeSpace 51 outdoor speakers at the Doneo showroom. Doneo Co ltd, Parklane Building, Mountbatten Street, Hamrun. Tel: 2123 0741 | Email: info@doneo.com.mt | Web: www.doneo.com.mt

RANGE ROVER EVOQUE CraFtsMaNsHiP, luxurY aND PerForMaNCe

The Range Rover Evoque has been designed to provide the premium experience expected from a true Range Rover just shrink-wrapped into a more compact package. Every aspect of the car has been meticulously refined to deliver the premium levels of craftsmanship, luxury and performance. The Range Rover Evoque interior features the highest quality materials. Large sections of the cabin are leather-wrapped, with beautifully crafted metal and wood finishers. Price From €39,995 (for the Range Rover Evoque Pure 2WD). Test drive one today. Contact Muscats Motors Tel: 2326 4584/5/7 | www.landrover.com.mt

104 Sunday Circle | April 2013

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